at the morgue

Placez le pointeur de la souris sur les mots soulignés, sans cliquer.

Three new corpsescadavres were delivered to the morgue one day, and each of them had a smile on their face.

The morticianembaumeur examined the first body and said, “First body: Frenchman, aged sixty. He died while making loveen plein ébat amoureux to his mistress — henced’où the smile.”

He moved on to the second. “Second body: Irishman, aged thirty. He won a thousand euros in the lottery, spent it alla tout dépensé on whisky and died of alcohol poisoning — henced’où the smile.”

The inspector then asked, “What about the thirdEt le troisième body?”

The morticianembaumeur replied, “Ah — this is perhaps the most interesting of all. This is Justin, aged twenty-five, a conspiracy-obsessed flat-eartherquelqu’un qui croit fermement que la Terre est plate. He was struck by lightningfoudroyé.”

“Why’s he smiling, then?” asked the inspector.

“He thought he was getting his picture takenpensant qu’on le prenait en photo,” the mortician said.

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Vocabulary

corpses: deceased bodies — cadavres

mortician: funeral professional — embaumeur / thanatopracteur

He handled the corpsescadavres with care.

The morticianembaumeur answered the inspector’s question.

That guyle type / le gars looked surprised.

I waited tilljusqu’à the rain stopped.

Don’t forget the toothpastele dentifrice.

Grammar

The joke relies mainly on the past simple for completed actions and the past continuous when setting an ongoing scene.

Past continuous: “He died while making loveen plein ébat amoureux” — an action in progress when another event occurred.

Past simple: “He was struck by lightningfoudroyé.”

Question tags & direct speech: direct questions keep the comic timing — “Why’s he smiling, then?”

Synonyms & Alternatives

corpses: bodies, remains

mortician: undertaker, funeral director

conspiracy-obsessed flat-earther: flat-Earth believer, staunch flat-Earth supporter

Mini Dialogue

Inspector: Who is the first body?

Mortician: A Frenchman — died while making love.

Inspector: And the third?

Mortician: Justin — he was struck by lightning; he thought he was getting his picture taken.

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