Everything in Canada is labelled bilingually, in English and French. This, of course, is kind of irritating when one is a confirmed Francophobe. So I make a point of leaving on the shelf any product with the French side showing, because that'll learn 'em!
Despite all best intentions, though, we're learning some French words and phrases, purely through packaging osmosis. One of the words which comes up regularly is sans, meaning without. No Added Sugar on one side of the bottle is written as Sans Sucre on the other; Sans Agent de Conservation indicates the product has No Preservatives; Powerful odour and wetness protection becomes Protection Puissante Contre les Odeurs et l'humidite.
This morning I learned a new one from a tin of Black Beans*: Sans Nom, which means No Name. It's some supermarket chain's in-house brand which pretends not to be a brand, although the black-on-yellow packaging is certainly distinctive, and is carried across multiple product lines.
What really caught my eye, though, was the word Nom. Thanks to the glories of the Interwebs, this is now a universal indicator of deliciousness**. Only the French remain convinced it means otherwise, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.
Stupid French people***.
* = Haricots Noirs, in case you were wondering
** = nom nom nom nom nom
*** = I do like their President though.
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