poker night invitation wording

French people: please comment?

I am learning French and as part of our homework, we had to write out an invitation to something. I wrote about a Poker night and found that the word for poker in French is 'tisonnier'. This was what my dictionary said.

My teacher did not know the word and has sent back my homework asking me what it means! But he's french!

Can anyone shed some light on this? It seems most peculiar to me!

Merci.

You have discovered the perils of literal translation and of false cognates.

The English word "poker" derives from the Irish word "poca" and has nothing to do with the instrument which one uses to move wood around in a fireplace.

So when you go to look up the word for the card game called poker in your English-French dictionary or plug it into a translation program you wind up with the word for the fireplace tool.

In France the card game is called "Le Poker."

Miracle Flight To The New York Wedding

MIRACLE FLIGHT TO THE NEW YORK WEDDING

 

 

BY SABBY BHARATHAN

 

 

Yet another day without Robert, anger tore through her.  Last night was a quiet one, considering the amount of times they had fought in the past and all to do with his borrowings.  He would borrow from the queen if he had a chance and wipe the treasury clean that is how good he was with people.  Oh did he ever think about their two beautiful children? Ever?  No, that was up to her and her lot.  The humiliation of friends calling up to see when they could be repaid and the so-called loans went back as far as ten years.

 

At first, Tracy thought he was secretly gambling. Horseracing, Football maybe even Poker.  Last Friday though she had taken time off to go to the surgery and when she got back home there was a pile of letters and bills.  This particular bill caught her eye – payment required for a new garden lawn and patio slabs at his mother's place.  Ah, so this was where all the money was going. 

"Tracy do not be so stupid." "Why would I play horses?" he ranted last Thursday, this was before she found out about the lawn and the patio.

"I don't know you tell me? Since it's you who's been hiding all the post from me!" Tracy pointed out.

"I have my reasons, just leave it will you?" Robert stormed off to his evening job at the local pub.

 

Tracy rang her mother to say that she is finally going to file for divorce, enough is enough! If it were not for her mother, none of this would have happened in the first place.  Here she was trying very hard to keep her family going and there her mother interfered with every aspect of her life.  All this time Tracy had relied on her mother mainly as a babysitter and counsellor giving advice on anything and everything under the sun.  Luckily, dad did not have a say he was well and truly under her mother's thumb otherwise, she would have had two to contend.

"What for?" her mother had asked over the phone when Tracy told her about her plans to divorce her husband of 15 years.

"Because he's paying for his mother's lawn as well as her patio?"  Doris failed to understand how an office worker could possibly pay his mother's gardening expenses.  Something did not fit.

"I don't understand…" Doris paused.

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"Oh mum, Anna wanted to join ballet classes and I couldn't afford the fees, so I told her maybe later when we got some money together she could start then, but the worst bit is he keeps things from me."

"I don't want to be married to him anymore, I can't trust him, and he's not the person I married!"

"Now Tracy don't go doing things hastily, take it from me, you'll regret it later, think about the consequences."

"There can't be any bigger consequences than what I'm going through right this minute mother."

"I'll talk to you later." Tracy rang off more upset than she would care to admit.

 

 

Now staring out of the kitchen window watching cars go by on the main road, her mother's words came back to haunt her.  Tracy's friend Sheena had popped in a couple of nights ago to hand Robert the card and probably some gift for his niece – his brother's daughter Sara, her wedding was in two weeks time.  At that moment, Tracy hated Sheena more than ever.  Why did she have to be nice and smiley? It was all a show with Sheena.  She really did not care about Robert or his niece as much as Tracy did anyway, Sheena did not even know them.  Not much was said between the two of them, so Sheena left promptly after that.

 

Later when Robert came out of the bath, she confronted him about the card and the gift from Sheena.

"So you even told Sheena about the wedding? Who else did you tell? Everyone except my mother?"

"I gave her the invite Tracy but she pretended not to receive it, it's not my fault."

"Well for the last time before I cancel the tickets, Tracy are you coming to New York for the wedding?"

"No, I'm not and seeing as you are loaded you might as well make your own way to the airport as I'm running low on petrol!" How can he stand there and ask her when he damned well knew that they did not have the money to travel and buy fancy presents for the wedding and his brother Tom's family.

"You needn't bother Phil's giving me a lift" and he quietly walked away from her. She will have to have a word with Sheena's husband, Phil and make sure he does not take Robert to the airport.  Tracy felt very spiteful towards Robert not only was he helping his mother, but attending a posh wedding in New York.  What she had seen of Tom's house from the pictures, they had emailed through the net Tracy knew they did not do things by halves over there?  Phil was a true friend he pushed aside her request and took Robert to the airport.

 

It was nearly twenty-four hours since Robert had gone she convinced herself that it did not matter but after 15 years of marriage some things just blended in.  Tracy felt lost and alone.  Truth is that apart from his habit of borrowing money from anyone, he was a wonderful father. Cain and Anna adored their dad, although lately because of his obsession with music and the compact discs, Cain was complaining about the shortfall of funds not to mention the depreciation of his latest clothes and shoes collection.

"Tracy? Tracy?" Doris sounded excited.

"Yes mum?" Tracy was not in any mood to play mind games with her.

"You won't believe it Tracy, but the "Pay Well Insurance Policy" that your dad was paying into has matured and the brokers have sent me a cheque for £47,000.  I just can't believe it!"

"Tracy I want you and the kids to fly out for the wedding, I'll pay for it, get packing girl!" Doris for once realised that her daughter's happiness meant more to her than status and lifestyle.

"Thanks a million mum!" Tracy didn't care anymore she wanted to be at that wedding for sure, and this was her second chance and boy she wasn't going to miss it for anything.

 

Tracy who had been in limbo for the past couple of days since Robert's departure, hurried upstairs to pack her cases, their passports were already sorted out by Robert, he was good like that.  Maybe if you do not worry too much about the big things happening in your life, there is always a chance that things would work out in the end.

*****

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