Phonetically ‘ʃatuje’, a giggly kind of sound which seems to encapsulate all the tickling in the world. As in, ‘Arrête, ça chatouille!’ (‘Stop, that tickles!’). The doctor in Jules Romains’ play Knock asks his patients, ‘Est-ce que ça vous chatouille, ou est-ce que ça vous gratouille? (‘Does it tickle or does it itch?’) Dr Knock was in the habit of exaggerating his patients’ minor complaints to keep them profitably loyal to him and the phrase now represents a challenge to the hair-splitters of the world.
The verb also supplies our village, Châtillon-sur-Saône, with a pet name. The Saône is not the only river here, there’s also the little Apance, flowing into the Saône. Since 'pance' is the old French word for stomach, some people call Châtillon 'Tickle-on-the-tummy'. No better thing to be!
The verb also supplies our village, Châtillon-sur-Saône, with a pet name. The Saône is not the only river here, there’s also the little Apance, flowing into the Saône. Since 'pance' is the old French word for stomach, some people call Châtillon 'Tickle-on-the-tummy'. No better thing to be!