Foundry technology

The thirteenth entry is la porosité gazeuse, and the adjective that closes it is the one to slow down on, because French uses it in two places where English needs two different words. In the foundry the reading is the technical one and answers exactly to « gaseous »: gas dissolved in the melt comes out as bubbles and leaves the holes this entry names. Away from the workshop, though, gazeux belongs to every café table. Une eau gazeuse is sparkling water, une boisson gazeuse a fizzy drink, and the opposite of it on a menu is une eau plate — flat only in the sense of never having had bubbles put into it. That is the crossing worth holding on to, because English « flat » is a complaint: flat beer has gone stale, and asking for « flat water » describes something spoiled, while de l’eau plate is simply the ordinary bottle. The trap closes the other way as well, since « gaseous » in English has stayed in the laboratory. Render une boisson gazeuse as a gaseous drink and you have written a warning notice instead of a menu.