Here comes the grand moment of announcing who the winner is.
I loved ALL the entries, witty as usual.
@agagug
I hope the keyboard has
stopped increasing in size and you are well and able to join us in the next
game , I loved the humorous exchange of comment between you and Lynne, though!
:)
@Les, your contribution was gorgeous, as usual, but, alas, after conducting another survey with non-native speakers of English, they did not see eye to eye with your research and suggested a correction that the pilot was not a French woman, but rather a Russian KGB agent Valerij (Валерий) who , as further investigation revealed, used this androgynous name as a disguise. So it was a slip off in the air :/
Your linguistic smell has led you on the right track, though, that the term had to do something with French and the vigilant eyes of our French community members unfailingly noticed that a certain servant/valet was the key to the origins of the word. Monique was the first to suggest the meaning, which was very close, but maryse pey� nailed it with her daffynition:
When a French servant (OUDINI) has an awful toothache this is how he says for :
Le VALET (the male servant) OUDI (nickname for OUDINI the magician) N �A RIEN (has nothing).
He wants to show how brave he is in a very painful situation and that he is of noble roots as he speaks about him at the 3rd person of the singular like if he were a king...
Over to you, Maryse, and good luck to us all in the next game.
Giorgi
