Expressions

Question 1

drill into one’s head

Answer 1

“ancrer dans la tête”, “inculquer”
The teacher drilled the math formulas into the students’ heads.
Parents often drill into their children’s heads the importance of being honest.

Question 2

sharpen the mind

Answer 2

“aiguiser l’esprit”, “affûter l’esprit”, ou “stimuler l’esprit”.
Reading challenging books can help sharpen the mind.
He does puzzles every day to sharpen his mind.

Question 3

get the gist

/ɡɛt ðə dʒɪst/

Answer 3

“comprendre l’essentiel”, “saisir le sens général”, ou “avoir une idée générale”.
I didn’t understand every word, but I got the gist of what she was saying.
He didn’t read the entire report, but he got the gist of it.

Question 4

pick up a skill

Answer 4

“acquérir une compétence”, “apprendre une compétence”, ou “apprendre une aptitude”.

During the pandemic, many people picked up new skills, like cooking or playing an instrument.

Question 5

pull an all-nighter

Answer 5

“passer une nuit blanche”.
I had to pull an all-nighter to finish my assignment on time.
She pulled an all-nighter studying for her exams.

Question 6

rack your brain

Answer 6

“se creuser la tête” ou “se creuser les méninges”.
I’ve been racking my brain all day trying to remember where I put my keys.

Question 7

ace a test

Answer 7

“réussir un test haut la main”, “cartonner à un examen”, ou “briller à un test”.
She studied hard and aced the test.
If you prepare well, you can ace any test.

Question 8

How do you figure ?

Answer 8

“Comment en es-tu arrivé à cette conclusion ?” ou “Comment expliques-tu cela ?”.
“He must be guilty because he was the last one there.” — “How do you figure?”

Question 9

“work hard, play hard”

Answer 9

“Travailler dur, s’amuser fort” ou “Travailler dur et profiter à fond”.
He lives by the motto “work hard, play hard,” balancing his career with exciting adventures on the weekends.

Question 10

“All in a day’s work”

Answer 10

“C’est la routine”, “Ça fait partie du travail”, ou “Rien d’extraordinaire”.
“You saved three lives today!” — “All in a day’s work.”
Fixing these machines is all in a day’s work for me.

Question 11

Give it a rest

Answer 11

• “Laisse tomber”
  
  • “Arrête un peu”
    You’ve been complaining about this all day, give it a rest!

Question 12

Take a breather

Answer 12

“faire une pause” ou “reprendre son souffle”
You’ve been working hard all day, take a breather and relax for a few minutes.

Question 13

a change of pace

Answer 13

“un changement de rythme” ou “un changement d’activité”
Taking a weekend trip to the countryside would be a nice change of pace from city life.

Question 14

All work and no play

Answer 14

“Trop de travail et pas assez de détente”
All work and no play can lead to burnout and stress.

Question 15

Work to live, not live to work

Answer 15

“Travailler pour vivre, et non vivre pour travailler”

Question 16

How do you figure?

Answer 16

“Comment en es-tu arrivé à cette conclusion ?” ou “Comment expliques-tu cela ?”.
“He must be guilty because he was the last one there.” — “How do you figure?”
Synonymes en anglais :
1. How do you come to that conclusion?
2. What makes you think that?

Question 17

in the driver’s seat

Answer 17

“être aux commandes” ou “être en position de contrôle”.
After the promotion, she was in the driver’s seat of the project.
With a strong majority in the parliament, the party is now in the driver’s seat.

Question 18

call the shots

Answer 18

“prendre les décisions” ou “être celui qui décide”
In this company, the CEO is the one who calls the shots.
If you want to call the shots, you need to be prepared for the responsibility.

Question 19

run a tight ship

Answer 19

“gérer de manière stricte et efficace” ou “diriger avec discipline”.
The new manager runs a tight ship, and now the team is more productive.
She runs a tight ship, so there’s no room for mistakes.

Question 20

keep a level head

Answer 20

“garder son calme” ou “rester posé”,
In stressful situations, it’s important to keep a level head.
He always keeps a level head, even when things get difficult.

Question 21

show the ropes

Answer 21

“montrer les ficelles” ou “apprendre les bases” à quelqu’un.
On her first day at work, a colleague showed her the ropes.

Question 22

take the lead

Answer 22

“prendre l’initiative” ou “prendre la direction” d’une situation ou d’un projet
She decided to take the lead on the project and organize the team.

Question 23

rally the troops

Answer 23

“mobiliser les troupes” ou “motiver les gens”,
The manager rallied the troops before the big presentation to boost their confidence.

Question 24

set the bar

Answer 24

“fixer la barre” ou “établir un standard”
He always sets the bar low to ensure he meets expectations.

Question 25

lead the way

Answer 25

“montrer la voie” ou “ouvrir la marche”
She led the way to the meeting room, showing the new employees where to go.

Question 26

“walk the walk, talk the talk”

Answer 26

“joindre le geste à la parole” ou “faire ce qu’on dit”. utilisée pour décrire quelqu’un qui non seulement parle de faire quelque chose, mais qui met aussi ses paroles en action, montrant ainsi une cohérence entre ce qu’il dit et ce qu’il fait.
If you’re going to lead, you need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

Question 28

don’t do too much

Answer 28

“n’en fais pas trop” ou “ne te surcharge pas”
Take it easy today—don’t do too much.
You’re already doing a lot; don’t do too much and burn yourself out.

Question 30

in no time

Answer 30

“en un rien de temps” ou “très rapidement”.
If we work together, we’ll finish this project in no time.
The train will be here in no time, so get ready.

Question 31

pave the way for

Answer 31

“ouvrir la voie à” ou “préparer le terrain pour” quelque chose
The new policy paves the way for a more sustainable economy.

Question 32

to pay tribute

Answer 32

“rendre hommage”, “honorer”, ou “exprimer sa gratitude”
“The community paid tribute to the firefighters for their bravery.”

Question 33

to go bananas

Answer 33

expression informelle en anglais qui signifie “devenir fou”, “perdre la tête”, ou “s’exciter énormément”, selon le contexte.
“The kids went bananas when they saw the magician.”
“He went bananas when he realized he had locked his keys in the car.”
“My boss went bananas when I missed the deadline.”

Question 34

to go crash

Answer 34

S’écraser ou avoir un accident
“If you drive too fast, you might go crash into the wall.”

Question 35

to go crazy

Answer 35

“devenir fou”, “s’énerver”, ou “s’exciter énormément”
“The crowd went crazy when the band started playing their biggest hit.”
“My parents went crazy when they found out I skipped school.”

Question 36

to fall short of

Answer 36

ne pas être à la hauteur de”, “ne pas atteindre”, ou “ne pas répondre à
“The company’s sales fell short of expectations this quarter.”
“The movie was good, but it fell short of the critics’ high praise.”
“The team fell short of winning the championship by just one point.”

Question 37

to go extinct

Answer 37

“disparaître”, “s’éteindre”, ou “être exterminé”
“Many species have gone extinct due to deforestation and climate change.”
“If we don’t support local bookstores, they might go extinct.”

syn: “Die out”

Question 38

“to make matters worse”

Answer 38

“aggraver les choses”, “empirer la situation”, ou “rendre les choses encore plus difficiles”.
“I was already late for the meeting, and to make matters worse, my car broke down.”

Question 39

go so far as to

Answer 39

“aller jusqu’à” ou “oser faire quelque chose d’audacieux ou extrême”
“He went so far as to accuse his best friend of lying.”
“The protesters went so far as to block the entrance to the building.”

Question 40

to ruffle some feathers

Answer 40

“froisser quelqu’un”, “déranger”, ou “provoquer des tensions ou des mécontentements”.
“The new manager’s changes ruffled a few feathers among the staff.”

Question 41

“Day in, day out”

Answer 41

“jour après jour”, “quotidiennement”, ou “sans relâche”.
“She works hard day in, day out to support her family.”
“I’m tired of doing the same tasks day in, day out.”

Question 42

“Around the clock” “24/7”

Answer 42

“Jour et nuit”, “24 heures sur 24”.

syn: “24 hours a day”

Question 43

to be alike

Answer 43

pour indiquer que deux ou plusieurs choses ou personnes sont similaires, semblables, ou pareilles.
“The twins are so alike that it’s hard to tell them apart.”
“Their ideas are alike in many ways.”

Question 44

for the sake

Answer 44

Dans l’intérêt de, pour le bien de
“She stayed in the job for the sake of her children.”

Question 45

to be set

Answer 45

Être prêt, être préparé
“We’re all set for the trip tomorrow.”
Être fixé, établi
“The date for the meeting is set for next Monday.”

Question 46

to fall prey to

Answer 46

Devenir la proie de, être victime de
“Many people fell prey to the scam and lost their savings.”

Question 47

off limits

Answer 47

Interdit, inaccessible
“The construction site is off limits to unauthorized personnel.”

Tabou, sujet à éviter
“Politics is off limits at family gatherings.”

Question 48

to set the tone

Answer 48

Donner le ton
“Her welcoming speech set the tone for the entire conference.”