dans l'âge mûr

Dans l'enfance tous les hommes sont frères, dans l'âge mûr chacun tire de son bord // In childhood all men are brothers, in maturity everyone pulls at his side.

The last Inktober prompt this year is "ripe/mûr". I rather like less fruity meaning of both words, the one related to age. There is a difference, though - while in English "ripe age" asks for "old" to be inserted in the middle, in French, as far as I understand, it simply implies maturity.

When I found the quote in the caption, a Chinese proverb, I though oh! how lucky, there is a direct equivalent in English, "pull a blanket towards oneself". My search, however, didn't bring any convincing results, so now I think perhaps Russian expression "тянуть на себя одеяло" decided to disguise itself as an English proverb just to confuse me*. It means literally "to hog a blanket" and figuratively "to act selfishly". 

Here is the cat, acting very maturely, i.e. trying to pull a blanket towards himself. 

* do tell me if the expression does exist in some form though

What a catch!

Le photographe capture parfois ce que l'histoire a perdu // The photographer sometimes catches what history has lost.

Today's prompt is "catch/capture". The quote above belongs to Remy Donnadieu.
I am not at all sure what he wanted to say, especially considering he makes photocollages, so  he can catch something that doesn't exist and never existed.

But well, here is the quote and here is the cat who just managed to catch something amazing.

Les mots les plus durs

Les mots les plus durs peuvent blesser plus encore qu'un bras ou qu'une épée // The harshest words can hurt even more than a hand or a sword

Today's prompt is "injured/blessé". In a search for inspiration I came across the quote in the caption, by Gaël Aymon. 

I myself am more of "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me" philosophy. The quote made me think of the famous "gun vs sword" scene from Indiana Jones. And here it is, except Indiana is trying to fight with words, and while the swordscat might look somewhat injured, I don't think he is very impressed overall.

Note: shoulder bag strap has nothing to sit on, because the cat has no shoulders.

Balade en bateau

Balade en bateau // Boat ride

Today's prompt is "ride/balade". And here is the cat, doing his best Titanic impression.

Don't worry about him though. Judging by the shape of the islands in the background, he is somewhere between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, so we can rule out an encounter with an iceberg. Plus, shaped as he is, he will just bobble to the shore in any case.

Un manteau classique

Un manteau classique ne se démode jamais // A classic coat never goes out of style

Today's prompt is coat/manteau.

And here is the cat, wearing one. I think he is trying to make an important point here - classic pieces, stylish though they might be, don't necessarily suit everybody.

Not every cat, certainly.

Le monde semble sombre

Le monde semble sombre quand on a les yeux fermés // The world seems dark when your eyes are closed

Today's prompt is "dark / sombre" and the phrase is an Indian proverb.

I have nothing to add.

C'est savoureux!

Pourquoi tu ne le manges pas? C'est savoureux!! // Why don't you eat it? It's tasty!

Today's prompt is tasty / savoureux. I used "délicieux" in the pic by mistake.

The cat is not too sure about this local delicacy. I can't blame him. I myself am usually prepared to try pretty much anything. As far as I remember, it was only once, when I couldn't bring myself to try local food. It was in Japan, and the food in question was some species of large sea snails. Unlike the one in the pic, they were cooked, but still.

Don't worry about the snail, he is about to make up his mind and make a determined bid for freedom. The cat is not going to stop him, of that I am sure.

As long as the world is turning and spinning

dizzy / étourdi

Today's prompt is dizzy / étourdi.

I found a nice quote by Mel Brooks "As long as the world is turning and spinning, we're gonna be dizzy and we're gonna make mistakes". 

It is not in French of course, but never mind.

Temple à vendre

Temple à vendre. Proche de toutes commodités. Besoin de réparation // Temple for sale. Close to all amenities. In need of repair

Today's prompt is ancient/ancien.

And here we have something which fits the bill. And it is for sale, too.

As I say, it's a bit dingy at present but it's surprising what a lick of paint'll do, isn't it?

Halloween is coming

Habillé comme un fantôme // Dressed as a ghost

Today's prompt is ghost/fantôme, so here is the cat, dressed as a ghost.

Halloween is coming

Trésor

Y at-il quelqu'un là-bas? // Is there anybody out there?

Today's prompt is Treasure/Trésor. Made me remember that one of the popular names for a dog in Russia used to be "Трезор". Looked it up and yes, it seems the most likely origin is from French Trésor. There is another version, about some three-eyed guarding semi-deity, but it seems less likely, at least to me.

Now, why is the cat in the doghouse, I am not sure. He's probably jut squatting there, waiting, but not wanting, for the owner to come back.

une force appliquée

En physique, la traction est une force appliquée par des moyens mécaniques solides // In physics, traction is a force applied by solid mechanical means.

Today's prompt are "tread" in English and (Suddenly!) "traction" in French. I am not even sure if  wikipedia definition in the caption is correct, but the two come together nicely when I think about tractors.

Cat seems to be happy, too. Finally a vehicle to match his powerful personality.

ça arrive!

ça arrive! // ##it happens!

Today's prompt is "sling/fronde". The cat just discovered one of the life's saddest truths.

Strictly speaking it is not a sling in the pic, but a slingshot, but well, it is one of the possible interpretations.

pas chez moi

Je ne me sens pas chez moi // I do not feel at home

Today's inktober prompt is "misfit/inadapté".

Not sure what the cat is doing there, but well... mistakes were made, clearly.

Bastet has been featured here once before. This comparison is just asking to be made, innit (keeping in passive voice).

Couleur bleu nuit

Mon ornement de Noël préféré était une boule de verre de belle couleur bleu nuit // My favourite christmas ornament used to be a glass bauble in beautiful midnight blue color

It is true, there was such a bauble. Originally it had small white stars its shiny surface, but they disappeared gradually.

While looking up the name of this shade of blue I found that what is "midnight blue" in English is simply "Bleu nuit" in French, i.e. not "midnight", just "night". Not sure which one I like better.

chat sauvage, de couleur gris

Le chagrin est une sorte de chat sauvage, de couleur grise // Grief is a kind of wild cat, gray in color

Today's prompt is "wild", "sauvage". A search for a suitable quote brought up this one, by Francis Blanche which resonated with me. The full quote goes :

Le chagrin est une sorte de chat sauvage, de couleur grise. Son cri est plutôt triste et lugubre. Il faut se mettre à plusieurs pour en venir à bout. Car, tout seul, on arrive mal à chasser le chagrin

Grief is a kind of wild cat, gray in color. His cry is rather sad and gloomy. We must work together to overcome it. All alone, it is difficult to chase away the grief.

 

Une légende

Une légende (de l'adjectif verbal latin legenda , « qui doit être lue ») est, à l’origine, un récit mis par écrit pour être lu publiquement // A legend (from the Latin word "legenda", "one that must be read") is originally a written account to be read publicly

Today's prompt is "legend/légende". And here is the cat, looking quite legendary.

Débordement

débordement // overflow

Today's prompt, an adjective "overgrown" is translated into French as "débordement" which is a noun  meaning"overflow".

Oh well, doesn't matter. At least now I know a French proverb "La dernière goutte est celle qui fait déborder le vase", literally "It is the last drop that makes the vase to overflow", figuratively "It is the last straw that breaks the camel's back".

Mon animal préféré

Mon animal préféré est un dragon // My favourite animal is a dragon

Today's prompt is nice. "Dragon". I like it. And it is written exactly the same in English and in French

Magie silencieuse

La neige est une substance magique. Et sa magie est silencieuse //
Snow is a magical substance. And its magic is silent.

I have already drew various pics related to today's Inktober prompt - "snow/neige" a few times. But what the hell, lets have another one.

I remember well that feeling when you wake up on a winter morning and everything seems a lot more quiet than normal. Means that overnight it snowed a lot. The cat is going to have a very quiet morning.

And he is hatless again, I must note.