On my French test, there was a fill in the blank question that said "Donne les bises avec les ___"
Or some correct spelling of that sentence.
It was our unit on body parts, and I blanked. I didn't know what "bise" was. I read it again. "Give the plural somethings with the blank" said my American brain.
Bises=Smiles? I thought. Give smiles with your teeth?
It seemed plausible. French is a weird language, after all.
Later on, as I went over the test with my French teacher, I asked him why that question was marked wrong. He told me the right answer was "lips," not teeth.
"Isn't that a matter of personal preference?" I asked quizzically, indignant that I had to smile with my lips and not my teeth.
He stared at me with a funny look in his eye for a good twenty seconds before he revealed what I had just said.
"You know that 'bise' means kiss, right?"
Well now I do.
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