Song: "In A Very Strange Land", by Ezra Soiferman, 3:30, 4mb



 

The Flneurs Lexicon

Created by Ezra Soiferman, March 17, 2006, Montreal

 

This lexicon is inspired by Concordia graduate student Mia Hunt's group discussion Walking Through Time: Flneur, Voyeur or Participant?

 

The intimate, salon-style event was part of the University of the Streets conversation series, moderated by Melissa Garcia-Lamarca and Carina Rose and presented by Eric Abitbol. March 16, 2006, 7-9pm at Caf Utopik in downtown Montreal.

 




Background:

 

Flneur: (French word) One who unhurriedly roams, rambles, drifts and/or adventures through the city. Traditionally a man of leisure who strolled the crowded 19th century Parisian arcades with no intention of shopping. Now represents anyone who's out to enjoy the city with a little extra time on his/her hands.

 

Originally coined by French author Charles Baudelaire in the mid-1800s and subsequently written about by Walter Benjamin, David White, Edgar Allan Poe and many others.

 

Etymology:  Old Norse: Flana (to wander), Greek: Planasthai (to wander, spread out). Derives from the root pel, ple or pla (field, flat) Derivatives include field, planet, plasma, plastic, and polka.




Further reading on flnerie:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flneur

Etymology: https://www.etymonline.com/word/flaneur 

The Flneur.co.uk: http://www.theflaneur.co.uk/

 

 

Baudelaire wrote: The crowd is his element, as the air is that of birds and water of fishes. His passion and profession are to become one flesh with the crowd. For the perfect flneur, for the passionate spectator, it is an immense joy to set up house in the middle of the multitude, amid the ebb and flow of movement, in the midst of the fugitive and the infinite.

 

Note: Signs around Qubec read: Pas de Flnage/No Loitering, but loitering and flnage are actually not at all the same thing. To loiter is to remain in one spot, whereas the act of flnage implies motion, sauntering or ambling. Go figure.

 

 


And now

 

The Flneurs Lexicon:

All words created by Ezra Soiferman

 

Aeroflnage - v. Drying wet laundry on your body as you saunter through town.

Anti-Inflnatory - n. Take this for sore walking feet.

Anti-Flnti - n. Cops who stoop to stop loiterers, jaywalkers or flneurs with $100+ fines.

Archiflnitecture - n. A way of building cities with flnage in mind.

Disflngia - n. When your get up n go has got up n gone.

Eau de Flneuse - n. Thrice-refilled Evian bottle in the flneurs rucksack.

Eco-Flnage - v. The act of treading lightly on the urban field.




Faux-Flneur - n. A hopeless, aimless wanderer. As opposed to a hopeful, aimless wanderer. Derogatory.

Festival FlNeige - Non-existent outdoor winter festival featuring free live music, free food and lots of people mincing about happily and aimlessly. Dress warm.

Flan - n. An Ikea product?

Flnboise - n. The urban jungles sweetest fruit.
Flnboyant - adj. Absolutely flntabulous. (Word submitted by C.G., Montreal)

Flan - n. Latin custard cake. No relation to flnage. Makes a tasty pit-stop, though.

Fln-Doo - n. What a snowmobile company could eventually come out with to wreck the whole fun.

Fln dattaque - n.  Your all-important strategy to move effortlessly through crowds, line-ups, construction areas.




Flnada - n. A great place to fln. Cold half the year. Wear long underwear. Motto: We flned on guard for thee

Flnage--trois - n. Trio con brio.

Flnamour - n. The roving object of your desires.

Flncy - n. Wearing haute-couture hautedoors.

Flndestine - adj. Undercover flnage.

Flndu - n. Bits of carefree quests dipped in melted chocolate.

Flne--Deux - n. You, a friend, and all the time in the world.




Flnnel - n. After a long day on the streets, put this type of pyjama on.

Flnesaurus - n. Five storeys tall, eats cars, a blight on the urban landscape. No, not a car-park a type of free-spirited dinosaur. Sadly, now extinct.

Flnesium - n. On the periodic table of elements. What you get when you mix a little asphalte and a lot of thyme.

Flnestros - n. Greek God of wanderings and walkabouts

Flnetarian - n. No meat, no fish, no veggies, just eating up pavement.

Flnetarium - n. Any great indoor place of flnage. Some malls actually make great flnetaria. (Word by Gerardo Sierra, Flneur, Montreal)

Flnete Earth - n. Where we all live and roam. Takes its time spinning.

  Flntre - v. Opposite of flnavoir.

Flneureine - n. The Queen of flnage. Majestic, dressed to the nines, always happy to wave politely from her meandering route.

Flneuresque - adj. Like a flneur or a flneuse but not quite there yet. He or she should jump a cab, go straight home, chill out, try again tomorrow.




Flneurization - v. The transformation from being an everyday pedestrian to a true flneur or flneuse.
Flneurotica - n. Strolling skimpily through town. (Word submitted by C.G., Montreal)

Flneigl - v. To convince your boss you need to deliver that package yourself rather than have a courier take it over. Often occurs on a sunny day.

Flnherb - n. Some smoke this along the journey. Illegal.

Flnimal - n. Squirrels, stray cats, lost dogs, raccoons and other creatures out and about with no shopping to do and/or the day off work.

Flning Ahead - If you fail to fln, plan to fail.

Flnista - n. Flneur or flneuse who doesnt shut up on the streets. Loud honking or jackhammers are preferred. Derogatory.

Flnmail - n. What you start to get if youre spotted a lot on the streets.

Flannery OConnor - Author, no relation.

Flnolium - n. Mall floors are frequently made of this. Slippery when wet.




Flnometer - n. Like a pedometer but rather than counting steps, it counts your blessings, or your karma, or something esoteric like that.

Flnostros - n. Our people. Our culture.

Flnouillette - Just a pretty word. Absolutely no meaning.

Flnoyance - n. Things like crowds, blocked streets, Amnesty International solicitors, etc.

Flntasia - Mickey Mouse stars as a rodent on the road to redemption.

Flntastic - adj. A really good jaunt.

FlnterNet - n. The place to surf without a particular goal. 

Fleur de Flneur - n. Toothpick. Often seen dangling coolly from the mouth of a true flneur or flneuse.

Micro-Flnage - v. Youve got 7 minutes to get from Point A to Point B. Yes, youre running like mad, but theres always 15 seconds to stop and smell the roses.

Multi-Flnage - v. To drift through the city in ever-growing packs. Pied-piper style.


 

Pain du Flne - n. A snack along the gentle journey. Ideally, a hot sesame seed bagel.
Photoflnage - v. Walk, breathe, look, smile, shoot. Repeat if necessary. Documentary photography made easy.

Rgie du Flnage du Qubec - n. If permits were required to be a flneur, this office would be collecting all the cash.

Shpatseer - n./v. Yiddish word for flnage.

Traffic - Simply not an issue.

Turbo-Flnage - v. See Micro-Flnage.

YogaFlnage - v. Walk breathe stretch

Zero-Fln-Time - n. What you have when you are working too hard and rushing too much. Get out and live a little!


 

Ezra Soiferman is a Montreal-based filmmaker, photographer and friend. He recently discovered hes also a bit of a flneur.

 

More about Ezra: http://www.EzraSoiferman

 

 

Contact Ezra




All photos Ezra Soiferman & Perpetuum Productions. Not to be used without permission.