Old, rare, precious, outdated ... Whatever the way they are qualified, the French language is populated with these forgotten words.
Is this why they charm our ears so much when they reappear?
Over the pages of a book of yesteryear or on the lips of a grandmother, they have the effect of a time machine.
To discover
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Some are delicious.
The verb
"to crunch"
for example, is synonymous with eating lightly, nibbling.
A parasite, a person who searches for dinner invitations, is comically referred to as a
"larder"
.
A buffoonish mockery, a mockery, is a
"pasquinade"
, and the
"prone-misery"
designates the one who continually complains.
Are they not charming, those pretty words from the past?
The editorial staff invites you to (re) discover them by doing this
Figaro
test
,
according to the
Unusual Dictionary of Forgotten Words
, by Alain Duchesne and Thierry Leguay (Éditions Larousse, 2013).
Will you get 10/10?