bimbeloteries

[mint]

I am so delighted to have discovered this word and it's amused me so much, I thought others of you out there might like it too.

I know it means colifichets and similar in French and probably knick-knacks in English.

However, it reminds me so much of bimbos that it will now be forever stuck in my mind as things that would please bimbos!  Not that I know the origin of the word "bimbo" though, of course, I would know one if I met her (it's always a "her, isn't it?)

The other word that may or may not be the equivalent of  "bimbeloteries" would be, gew-gaws, I suppose.  That was also a word which tickled my fancy as a child and I couldn't let it alone, claiming that all sorts of toys and things were "mere gew-gaws", said in a superior tone of voice.

Excuse me if you don't find any of this interesting.  Me, I love words: using them, learning about them, playing with them, trying them out on the unsuspecting, and so on. 

[Loiseau]

Friperies is perhaps what you are looking for, Sweets!

Bibelots is another that springs to mind, but maybe it's not quite so pejorative.

I have never heard of colfichets, but will try and work it into a few French conversations as it sounds SO luscious.

Angela

[mint]

Strange thing is, Angela, all I was doing was reading some of the stuff on the old calendar from La Poste now that the factrice has delivered the new one and I didn't want to throw the old one away without having a good look at its contents.

There was a piece on Jacques Cartier, who was an exlorer in the 16th century.  It was said that the explorers got to know some Micmac Indians and exchanged goods with them.

For the trade, the explorers changed les "colifichets, couteaux, tissus et autres bimbeloteries contre des peaux d'animaux".

A fair exchange is no robbery, I suppose!

BTW, I also found the recipe for le Banana-bread in the calendar and very nice it tasted too.

[Chancer]

"Battle of the Bimbos" was a tabloid headline in the 80's, it was a sort of low rent DSK affair, for me that was the time that the phrase was coined, I had a younger girlfriend at the time that really was a bimbo, in fact I used to refer to her affectionately as the bimbo and she really liked the name so which proved beyond doubt that she was indeed one.

I did think of selling raffle tickets to offload her, that would have been a Bimboloterie! [;-)]

[mint]

[quote user="Chancer"]

"Battle of the Bimbos" was a tabloid headline in the 80's, it was a sort of low rent DSK affair, for me that was the time that the phrase was coined, I had a younger girlfriend at the time that really was a bimbo, in fact I used to refer to her affectionately as the bimbo and she really liked the name so which proved beyond doubt that she was indeed one.

I did think of selling raffle tickets to offload her, that would have been a Bimboloterie! [;-)]

[/quote]

Oh, Chance, that was very naughty but I couldn't help laughing [:D]

[just john]

While appreciating a bit of word play I wondered what the male equivalent of bimbo would be, only to discover that according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bimbo the term began in US for an unintelligent or brutish male, not used with  a female meaning til 10yrs later, similar to Valley girl; According to the slightly dire Urban Dictionary, the male equivalent is Mimbo, and leads on to an unrepeatable side-effect.[:$]

 

[mint]

Yes, JJ, that makes sense to me as bimbo sounds male and you'd say le bimbo because la bimbo somehow doesn't cut it, does it?

But, hey, I'm going to remember himbo, as mentioned in your link except that it also doesn't make sense on its own unless you also have shimbo, I suppose.

 

[pachapapa]

In 1957 a collie at Duror Hotel, Argyll was given the name of Bimbo.

Every time Jim Reeves sang the song on the radio, it went absolutely spare.

BIMBO
(Morris)
Jim Reeves - 1957


Bimbo, Bimbo, where you gonna go-i-o?
Bimbo, Bimbo, what ya gonna do-i-o?
Bimbo, Bimbo, does your mommy know,
That you're goin' down the road, to see your little girl-i-o?


Bimbo is a little boy, who's got a million friends.
And every time he passes by, they all invite him in.
He'll clap his hands and sing and dance, and talk his baby that,
With a hole in his pants, and his knees stickin' out, he's just big enough to walk.

Bimbo, Bimbo, where you gonna go-i-o?
Bimbo, Bimbo, what ya gonna do-i-o?
Bimbo Bimbo, does your mommy know,
that you're goin' down the road, To see your little girl-i-o?

Bimbo's got two big blue eyes, that light up like the stars.
And the way to light them up, is to buy him candy bars.
Cracker Jacks and bubble gum will start his day off right.
All the girlies follow him just a begin' for a bite.

Bimbo, Bimbo, candy on your face-i-o,
Bimbo, Bimbo, chewin' on your gum-i-o.
Bimbo, Bimbo, when you gonna grow,
Everybody loves you little baby bimb-i-o.

You never catch him sittin' still, he's just the rovin' kind.
Although he's just a little boy, he's got a grown-up mind.
He's always got a shaggy dog, a-pullin' at his clothes,
And everybody calls to him, as down the street he goes.

Bimbo Bimbo where you gonna go-i-o?
Bimbo Bimbo what ya gonna do-i-o?
Bimbo Bimbo does your mommy know?
That you're goin' down the road, To see your little girl-i-o?

Bimbo, Bimbo, Bimbo, Bimbo, Bimbo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9Gu0dE2A60

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbDe4_HIaQM&feature=related

[mint]

No wonder that drove the poor old dog nuts [:'(]

I think that amounts to animal abuse and the RSPCA should have been called in!

[LAiffricaine]

[quote user="sweet 17"]  ....  There was a piece on Jacques Cartier, who was an exlorer in the 16th century.  It was said that the explorers got to know some Micmac Indians and exchanged goods with them. For the trade, the explorers changed les "colifichets, couteaux, tissus et autres bimbeloteries contre des peaux d'animaux"...... [/quote]

 

Micmac has become a French familiar masculine noun for an intrigue, a machination or a difficult situation. 'Qu'est ce que c'est ce micmac?' could possibly be one of Mr Hercule Poirot's catchphrases. Enough for him to work out his little grey cells ...

As to colifichet, bimbeloterie, bagatelle ... a more pejorative noun is sometime used  : quincaillerie for all the clinking bling worn by some people, indeed some of them bimbos [:D] 

[mint]

Ah, Aiffricaine, thanks for the French lesson!

I like micmac for intrique and will henceforth explain it to my Scottish friend with whom I take a walk once a week!

I knew about quincaillerie because I read that Sarko was addicted to it before Carla toned down his taste somewhat (er...I didn't imply his taste in women, so please don't call me snooty!)

[nomoss]

Micmac has always been a shopping centre for me

http://www.micmacmall.com/

[Chancer]

I thought that quincallerie releted more to body piercings etc, cant imagine the president or his wife sporting them, best not go there eh.

A libertine guy once showed me a photo of his wife, as they are sadly prone to do [:(] it was of course a real "readers wives" type shot [+o(]

I commented that if one looked beyond the tattoos she appeared to have several shrapnel wounds in rather delicate positions [6]

[mint]

AFAIK, Chance, quincaillerie in this jokey context, just means "serious bling".  In other words, flashy jewellery.

[mint]

[quote user="Loiseau"]Friperies is perhaps what you are looking for, Sweets! Bibelots is another that springs to mind, but maybe it's not quite so pejorative. I have never heard of colfichets, but will try and work it into a few French conversations as it sounds SO luscious. Angela[/quote]

Angela, tu es là?

I managed to get BOTH colifichet and bimbeloterie into the same sentence today!

I was out walking with a large randonée group and it was a warm, sunny afternoon.  I stopped to remove my scarf and, as I did so, one of my earrings got knocked off and fell on to the road.

A Frenchman pointed out that I'd dropped something and I said, "Bof!  C'est un colifichet, une bimbeloterie", with, naturellement, the requisite two shrugs of the shoulders.

And I was wondering, after your post, just how long it would take me to get an opportunity to show off this brand new piece of knowledge![:P]

Mais, quelle frimeuse, hein?

[Loiseau]

Quelle frimeuse, indeed, Sweets! Both in ONE sentence! Bravo!!

I hope the Frenchman was impressed. I am. ;-)

I'm not in France at the moment, so would not be able to flabbergast anybody.

Angela

[just john]

[quote user="sweet 17"]I said, "Bof!  C'est un colifichet, une bimbeloterie", with, naturellement, the requisite two shrugs of the shoulders.![:P]

Mais, quelle frimeuse, hein?

[/quote]

Bof! une histoire marseillaise!! though I'm sure owners of two Chateau do happily and frequently discard such valuables as bimbeloterie. C'est pas le Perou, Qu'ils mangent de la brioche[:D]

[bubbles]

So you just walked off and left the earring on the ground?

Or did some gallant gentilhomme retrouve it for you?

[5-element]

Well Sweet17, thank you for teaching me a new French word! As I knew the word "bibelot", I was convinced that it should be "bibeloterie" - fortunately I looked it up before making a fool of myself - sure enough, it is "bimbeloterie"! I am flummaxed! [:D]

[mint]

[quote user="5-element"]Well Sweet17, thank you for teaching me a new French word! As I knew the word "bibelot", I was convinced that it should be "bibeloterie" - fortunately I looked it up before making a fool of myself - sure enough, it is "bimbeloterie"! I am flummaxed! [:D][/quote]

5-e, you mean you were flummoxed![:D]

Nevermind, told you I was a terrible frimeuse, didn't I?

But, you know what, I shall always remember that there was a day in the year of Our Lord two thousand and eleven when I (little old me) taught the French and very elegant user of la langue française, 5-element, a new French word, LOL!

[5-element]

Ah you frimeuse, you! [:D] Keep it up!

And...I always confuse being flummoxed with being poleaxed (both are favorite words of mine, another one being balderdash)!

 

[Frecossais]

5-element's post came to mind when I was in France recently. When I'm there I run a conversation class in English for adults, and I had asked them to look in the dictionary for 3 English words they didn't know, and then to use them in a sentence. Most of them chose fairly middle-of-the-road words but one girl picked petticoat, handkerchief and splutter just because they pleased her and she thought them amusing.

Long live vocabulary extension and the love of words!

[mint]

Frecossais, do you mean that when her petticoat fell down around her ankles, she had to splutter into her handkerchief?[:)]

[idun]

When we were out a long long time ago, my friend's petticoat fell around her ankles, but in fact it was her knickers. She denies all knowledge of that incident all these years later. She blushed, I spluttered and then howled with laughter.

[mint]

Id, I am reminded of those shortbread biscuits that used to be called petticoat tails because of their shape.

I am reminded of a fat, greedy Scottish chap in a kilt eating one and choking on the crumbs in his haste.  He made a splutter and went blue in the face but I, being a young and very cruel child, laughed into my handkerchief in a most unbecoming manner.

PS:  Id, for the purposes of this game, you have to use the original words as in Frecossais' post:  so, no using of past tenses and no changing of the words, OK?[:P][;-)][:D]