Today’s expression: « se mélanger les pinceaux »

Literal translation: to mix up paintbrushes

Figurative translation: To get confused / to get muddled up / to make a mistake

Origin: « Se mélanger les pinceaux » was first used to describe the phenomenon of one’s legs getting twisted up, causing them to lose their balance.

Saturday’s posts will contain a few little “somethings,” starting with a quote or expression – usually in English or in French – and ending with a riddle or brain teaser. Wednesday’s posts will begin with Wonderful Words, occasionally preceded by an amuse-bouche.

If you’re wondering how to pronounce “amuse-bouche” and today’s expression, feel free to skip to the end of this post and click the play button (the triangle on the left side of the audio block) to hear me read this post aloud.

Another reason to skip to the end of this post is for the riddle. I chose one of my top three favorite riddles for today. The majority of this post is boring technicalities, tips, and tricks for navigating my website and blog posts. A lot of it you can figure out on your own. But can you figure out the riddle on your own??

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What is an amuse-bouche?

Amuse-bouches,* literally translating to “mouth amusers,” are single, bite-sized hors d’oeuvres. Amuse-bouches are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons but are served free and according to the chef’s selection alone.

As it relates to samediqqch, amuse-bouches will be specially selected, particularly palatable wonderful words (free of charge, of course).

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How are the blog posts organized?

Categories group posts generally, while tags are used for more specific groupings. Individual posts will be filed under one category, but they may have several tags.

Here is a list of the categories I plan to use, followed by common tags you may see within them.

• Language
  • Wonderful Words, ESL, EFL, French, Writing, Quotes, Teaching & Tutoring
• Uncategorized
  • Saturday Somethings, Favorites, Tips & Tricks, Lists
• Books
  • Fiction, Nonfiction
• Nature
  • Animals, Plants, Ants, Birds
• Travel
  • France, Norway, Belgium, Italy
• Entertainment
  • Music, Lyrics, Movies, Anime

Half of my posts will be tagged Wonderful Words, and the other half will be tagged Saturday Somethings. Hopefully this will be the only semi-weak semiweekly post – once we get past the tedious logistics, we can dive into exploring the beauties of life and language in subsequent posts.

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How to search by category

At the top of any page on samediqqch.com on a desktop or laptop, hover over the Blog page menu title. A dropdown list with each category’s name will appear. Select the category you wish to view.

If you visit samediqqch.com on your phone browser, click the two horizontal lines at the top right of the page to view the dropdown menu containing all of the website’s pages along with all blog categories.

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How to search by tag

Visit the Reader section of WordPress to view blog posts. You can go to the Reader by clicking here.

Click the “Tags” dropdown arrow on the lefthand column.

Type the name of the tag and click “Add.” This will bring you to a page showing all blog posts that use the name of the tag you typed.

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How to interact with a post

You can subscribe to receive an email with each new blog post. All you have to do is enter your email address on the home page and click “Subscribe.”

You can share a post by clicking on one of the four icons appearing below each blog post. The bird icon is to share the blog’s link on Twitter. The next icon is to share on Facebook. The envelope icon will allow you to share the post via email. The final icon lets you print the page.

If you have your own blog, click the Reblog button to share my post on your website. Press the Like button to like the post.

To leave a comment or a reply, click where it says “Enter your comment here…” at the bottom of this page. A few boxes will appear beneath the text box. If you want to receive updates when comments are posted, check the first box. If you want to subscribe to receive an email each time I post a blog, check the second box. When you’re done with your comment, don’t forget to click “Post Comment.”

One rule for the comments section is this: Please don’t answer the riddle in the comments for all to see. I’d love to know if and when you find the solution. But other people may want to work it out on their own. You are more than welcome to send your guesses to me individually, but please don’t spoil it for everyone.

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Enough with all the meta-blogging and website talk. From here on out you will only see the word “blog” when absolutely necessary. I hope you enjoy the riddle!

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Riddle

What can go up a chimney down but not down a chimney up?

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*All sources for information are cited as embedded links that lead to the website(s) where I found the information. Simply hover over text in the blog post and click the underlined word(s) to visit the source page. Some images in future posts will include links to their sources as well.