Tuesday, February 9 is Mardi Gras, or in English, Fat Tuesday. Traditionally the final feast before the fasting that begins the next day, le mercredi des Cendres, or Ash Wednesday, the most famous of these celebrations in the United States is held, of course, in New Orleans - La Nouvelle-Orléans. Not only were the city’s architecture, cuisine and traditions influenced by the French colonists that controlled it at different periods of history, the French language also left its mark, most notably in the Cajun French and Louisana Creole still spoken in the region. However, even English speakers in the region use phrases that can be traced back to French.
Here’s a handful of phrases that we’ve noticed and found interesting, and as you can see, there’s a distinct ‘party’ theme, to get you in the mood for Mardi Gras:
fais do-do - If you’re a fan of the HBO series Treme, you might have heard this phrase used to refer to a Cajun dance party, such as the one that Annie and Davis get invited to on Mardi Gras. Fais do-do in French literally means ‘Take a nap’ (do being short for dormir, to sleep) and the story goes that this phrase came to mean a dance party because these parties tended to happen after the babies went to sleep, so a Cajun mom would encourage her babies to fais do-do so that she could join the party.
Speaking of Cajun dance parties, you might remember when Annie auditions to play with a Cajun band. Here’s a link to one of the songs by that group, The Pine Leaf Boys.
flambeaux - You might see people carrying (and dancing, twirling and joking around with) large flaming torches in night parades during Mardi Gras. The name for these torches come from French: flambeaux. A detailed history of the this tradition can be read here.
Vieux Carré- The old quarter in French is the city’s oldest neighborhood and party central during Mardi Gras. It’s also where you’ll find world famous Bourbon Street which incidentally was named after the ruling family in France at the time of New Orleans’ founding, the House of Bourbon (Le Maison de Bourbon).
Laissez les bons temps rouler! - This French phrase is probably the one most widely connected with the parties that New Orleans is famous for. So this Tuesday, instead of “Let the good times roll!,” we hope you’ll shout Laissez les bons temps rouler!
If you’d like to take a look at a more extensive list of New Orleans slang, the Experience New Orleans website has a glossary.