What’s so funny about “Carte blanche”?

What’s so funny about “Carte blanche”?
Well – as it turns out – plenty!!

Originally, this post was going to take a serious look at education.
It went instead to the lighter side. Can’t help myself – I got a case of giggles : )

Linguistically Confused?
First, a bit of linguistic background on me:
I’ve taken two years of Russian and about six years of French, give or take.
I’m fluent in English and Romanian (at least I hope I am ; )

This means I can easily get confused when writing.
Take the word SENSIBLE.
In Romanian (as in French) the word means sensitive. In English it means smart or practical (but you knew that : )

In the piece I was writing (and will share with you at a later date) I wanted to use the expression “Carte Blanche”.

Since it was early morning and I didn’t have enough coffee I wanted to make sure it’s something that is commonly used in English (or at least somewhat understood).
That’s where Yahoo and Google come in!
And that’s when it happened!

Carte Blanche
As many of you know, “carte blanche” is of French origins and it means giving someone full discretionary power to do something.

And the search brings up that definition (with examples, of course).
Plus the computer screen says:
“What made you want to look up carte blanche? Please tell us.”

Well, I’m due for a break so I scroll down to read some of the comments.

“I was to begin reading… a review of two books about continuing… As a second learner, I know about the sociolinguistic aspects of the definition of words that I may be sometimes lacking and wanted to know more about this particular one, given the moral implications this kind of events… “

That’s great! Someone using the internet as a research tool – just as I’m doing.
I’m going to the next comment (and this brought on the case of giggles):

“I just used it in a sentence, to yell at drunk college students (who woke me and my young children up). Apparently I like to use idioms when woken up rudely at 3am. Was looking up origins. Where I heard it? Likely as a child/ in conversation, don’t even remember learning it.”

That was funny!
I tried to see myself in that situation – being woken up in the middle of the night.
And tried to imagine what words I would use. And from what language!
Those college students would probably sober-up instantly!
Especially if I mention vampires.
(You do remember vampires “originated” in Romania : )

A note for you parents and educators:
Your teachings never go to waste.
And it’s coming in handy – sometime at 3AM!

                      
Sharing this blog with your friends is much appreciated.
            

Mariana Fieraru

Mariana Fieraru, an Eastern European transplant, fell in love with her new home shortly after landing in New York. She "discovered" pizza! Years later she still loves pizza. And so do her two feathered-kids, Sunny and Flipper

Mariana worked on both, the east and the west coast.
Big or small, each project she worked on helped define the importance of gaining and sustaining a competitive edge in an increasingly complex business environment.

Business know-how, love of teaching and writing – all combined in 2006 to form OBI.
Its mission: to make learning fun! And easy.

Through its training, consulting, and publications OBI builds bridges of knowledge to take you from where you are to
where you want to go. Using a mix of serious, informal, analytical, and optimistic approach, OBI truly makes learning fun.

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