To our circle of French Story Listeners,
If you missed last Friday’s Le Cercle de Bruno, or you’d like to enjoy it again, Session 8 is ready for you.
https://www.aliceayel.com/resources/book-club-le-cercle-de-bruno-session-8/
We have finally finished chapter 4 of Bruno et la magie de l’amour, and we are now on to chapter 5!
At the end of chapter 4, Bruno believes he has done something his aunt Astrid thinks is impossible.
That left us wondering: is Bruno a gifted magician, with powers the other magicians don’t have?
A word on “passer un coup de fil”
In chapter 5, Bruno’s parents phone him in Brittany to check that all is well.
In French, they lui ont donné un coup de fil.
Passer un coup de fil (or donner un coup de fil) means to make a quick phone call.
It’s an everyday, friendly expression, a little more casual than téléphoner or passer un appel.
You can use passer or donner, and both are very common.
As for the origin, the two words tell the story:
- Le fil is “the wire.” It refers to the telephone wire that connected the early phones. We still say au bout du fil (“on the other end of the line”) today, even though most of our calls are made on mobile phones with no wire at all!
- Un coup is a word French loves for a quick, single action: un coup d’œil (a quick look), un coup de main (a helping hand), un coup de soleil (a sunburn).
Put together, un coup de fil is a short “hit” on the wire: a quick call.
Try it this week: Je te passe un coup de fil demain ! (I’ll give you a quick call tomorrow!)
A legend for the month of November
At the start of last Friday’s Cercle de Bruno, we shared our highlights of the week in French, and Barry told us he had watched “La légende du lac de Saint-Point.”
It’s a perfect story for November: the legend of a city that disappears under water.
It’s a brand-new video and resource on our site.
Watch, read, and listen here: 👉 https://www.aliceayel.com/resources/le-lac-de-saint-point/
Thank you, Barry, for sharing it with us!
Do you have a favorite French story or video to share with the circle?
With warmth,
Alice & Ben 💕
P.S. 📅 Save the date! Our next Cercle de Bruno will be in two weeks, on Friday, November 20th.