Soupe de Gland

As one of my art directors and I were working on a project, I threw out the clichéd analogy of an acorn becoming an oak tree. Here’s the conversation:

AD: What’s an acorn?

I draw a picture of an acorn.

AD: Oh. Isn’t that what pigs eat?

GRC: I don’t know what you feed pigs over here. In America squirrels eat them.

AD: What’s a squirrel?

I draw a picture of a squirrel.

AD: Oh, okay. Yes, these are fed to pigs, too.

GRC: I’ve had them in soup before.

AD: No! Really?

GRC: I’m pretty sure. [After Googling this, I discovered it’s acorn squash soup that I’ve eaten. Not acorn soup.]

AD: How did you eat it?

GRC: In a soup. What do you call these in French?

AD: Gland [pronounced glawn].

GRC: Oui. Soupe du gland.

AD: Yes, but I wouldn’t say it like that.

GRC: Oh. Gland du soupe?

AD: No. In French…Well, I ought to tell you. The gland is also part of the penis. So I’d be careful how you talk about it.

Awkward silence.

GRC: Oh. Thanks.

So now, I’m terrified of talking about acorns in French. And I don’t think I’ll ever look at an acorn the same way.