Jacasser!

[Chancer]

I was chatting with the new young gym teacher today and didnt know how to express giggling/chatting in French, she told me it was "jacasser" then said be carefull its a bit of a pejorative so I asked her was it spelt with a C-K as in Jackass and she said yes and blushed, so did I [:D]

Bless her, spelling cant be her strong point as on checking the dictionary it is indeed jacasser, jacasse being the vulgar word for magpie which i now know is "pie" in French, so two new words I wont forget [:D]

Here is my question, if you want to talk about the bird the magpie do you use pie or jacasse?

If you want to talk about someone who chats loudly then its jacasse but what about someone who is a thieving magpie, is it used for that sense?

Finally if you use pie to describe the bird how is it pronounced? - pee?

Oh blimey now I am questioning myself on whether I pronounce pi (3.147) correctly!!!

[Tancrède]

[quote user="Chancer"]a thieving magpie, is it used for that sense?[/quote]

Oh yes;  une pie voleuse  -  as in the opera. 

We were taught at school that the French couldn't do puns, but a little girl (aged about 8) remarked to me a few weeks ago:  Une pie vole  -  et une pie vole…  Naturally I laughed appreciatively.

I didn't know that jacasse was a magpie.  I have only ever used pie. 

In my very limited experience I have always heard pie.  They seem to use corbeau indifferently for crow or rook  -  even though the latter is properly un freux.  And deny absolutely the existence of the choucas.

[Pierre ZFP]

Magpie = pie pronouonced pee

Where I come from we were always taught to be polite to single Magpies and say 'Good morning/afternoon/evening Mr Magpie' so now I involuntarily say 'Bonjour M. Pie'  much to the astonishment of anybody nearby [:$]

Have to say I don't know the difference really between Crows and Rooks, just that a group of the former is absolute murder [;-)]

[woolybanana]

My friend says maybe "Yacking" might be a good translation of jacasser. I expect she is right so long as she doesnt start calling me Mr Pie!

[NormanH]

It sounds as if the two words might be related

yack/ jac but apparently Yack is Australian so I suppose they can't be.

There is also bouillaque(r) to gossip...bou yack..

[mint]

Pi, as in 22 over 7 is also pronounced "pee" [:D]

[Pierre ZFP]

Well I didn't know that.

I always assumed it was pronounced 'Pie'  as in 'Who's been eating all the ...' 

No wonder I get confused looks from my French colleagues  [:P]

[idun]

TT, which is the best I can do for 22/7, is pee in french and pie in english.

And now I feel like going to bake a pie and might just do so![Www]

[Cendrillon]

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]

Magpie = pie pronouonced pee

Where I come from we were always taught to be polite to single Magpies and say 'Good morning/afternoon/evening Mr Magpie' so now I involuntarily say 'Bonjour M. Pie'  much to the astonishment of anybody nearby [:$]

Have to say I don't know the difference really between Crows and Rooks, just that a group of the former is absolute murder [;-)]

[/quote]

There's a French rhyme for counting magpies it's rather like our counting rhyme "One for sorrow, two for joy" etc.

The French rhyme says:

"Une pie, tant pis, Deux pies tant mis" ..there's more but I can't remember it all just now.

Edit:Just found this but I think there is more,

Une pie, tant pis ! Deux pies, tant mieux ! Trois pies, c'est mon ami ! Quatre pies, il est parti !

[Patf]

To make more complicated, I saw a recipe in a french magazine for a "pie aux volailles" - ie made with pastry. I wonder how they say that one?