le bordeaux, le bordelais and ze doggie bag
yesterday morning i read a new york times article by elaine sciolino titled: «garçon! the check, please and wrap up the bordelais!» i had a good laugh and began writing an email to the paper. i didn't return to it until now, too late indeed, since obviously someone else alerted them to the mistake. the headline now reads: «garçon! the check, please and wrap up the wine!» see, in french, bordelais is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to bordeaux, in france, or to the district around bordeaux, while in english it refers to a breed of cattle.the french government has been cracking down on unsafe driving and as a result, the consumption of wine in restaurants and bars has dropped. enter the concept of taking leftovers home... the public's reaction to a doggie bag for their wine? "why? i don't have a dog! people with the leftovers of their bottle — this is truly provincial," said a police union representative. "we're not campers," said his lunch companion, a policeman. what's wrong with these people?!
please note that there's no such thing as a "sac de chien" either... there is "le sac à chien"-- a bag, purse or backpack used to carry a dog, not leftovers from a restaurant. the correct word would be emporte-restes or sac à restes. maybe i shall finish and send the email after all...
