At the Pantiles Farmers Market.Because someone very close to me requires a hip operation I ask a neighbour about a similar operation he has undergone. It is dangerous territory because it means that I will receive a full account of his medical history. He does however let drop the name of a surgeon which I am looking for. A few minutes later I escape with a smile and a cheery "happy new year". The art of ending a conversation is sometimes harder than that of beginning one. Both need to be cultivated.
A word floating around at the moment is dunandunate. It means to over use a word that has recently been added to your vocabulary It is apparently at present a failed candidate for inclusion in the Oxford English Dictionary. But how long will that last? A Google search reveals its growing popularity.
4 comments:
and a happy new year yourself ... and her indoors, too
Ending a conversation. Even harder in French, and harder still in French on the phone. There are certain formulae but I hate boning on what can only be described as clichês. In any case I don't like the English devices either; to say "See you again soon." when one is only linked aurally seems something of a nonsense. A foreign phrase - not in French - might be the answer, and there's a rolling quality to Vaya con Dios. But I need reassurance that vaya is subjunctive and not imperative. No doubt you could help.
There is clearly a danger of dunandunating the word dunandunate...
t cheers!
L da P God speed. It's subjunctive, literally "may you go with God". A rather abrupt conclusion with ironic implications.
Lucy Another failed candidate for inclusion is "zenolexica", a state of grave confusion when faced with unusual words.
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