One of my favorite French past times is the way they translate titles of American movies into “French.” For instance, The Hangover (U.S. version) came to France and was given the translation of Very Bad Trip. Yes, they translated the title into another English title. Not that every movie title needs a direct translation, but I thought “hangover” or [avoir la] gueule du bois would make a fun French Lesson. Literally mouth of wood, gueule is slang for “face” or the mouth of an animal, while bois translates to wood

Speaking of wood, toucher du bois is a good phrase to know!

French Lessons is an ongoing series where I teach you French words and cultural lessons while beefing up my Illustrator skills.