French (France)

Question 1

Sauter du coq à l’âne

Answer 1

Literally: jump from the rooster to the donkey.
Idiomatically: change the subject of conversation abruptly

In a discussion or a conversation, if you want to change the subject completely, you could say something like

–Si vous permettez, je vais sauter du coq à l’âne. Avez-vous entendu la nouvelle que Julien et Sarah vont se séparer ?
–If you don’t mind, I’m changing the subject. Have you heard that Julien and Sarah are splitting up?

Question 2

Poser un lapin

Answer 2

Literally: Put a rabbit
Idiomatically: Stand somebody up

You’re hopping mad because Sacha didn’t show up at the café where you had agreed to meet. Here is what you say to a friend:

–Tu te rends compte. J’ai poireauté au café pendant deux heures parce que monsieur Sacha m’a posé un lapin.
–Get this. I cooled my heels in the café for two hours because whathisname Sacha stood me up.

Question 3

Aller droit au but

Answer 3

Literally: go straight to the goal
Idiomatically: get straight to the point

This is a great expression when you want to cut to the chase in a discussion. Let’s say you are being interviewed for a job (an “entretien d’embauche” in French.). You are being asked about your strong and weak points. You could say:

–Pour aller droit au but, je dirais que ma principale force est l’esprit d’équipe…
–To get straight to the point, I would say that my major strength is a sense of teamwork.

Question 4

La nuit porte conseil

Answer 4

Literally: Night brings advice
Idiomatically: It’s good to think things over or to not rush in to something.

A friend has a major decision to make. Here is what you could say to this person.

–C’est une décision importante. Je te conseille fortement de réfléchir un peu. À ta place, j’attendrais jusqu’à demain avant de prendre une décision. Tu sais, la nuit porte conseil.
–This is an important decision. I suggest you think it over a bit. If I were you, I’d wait till tomorrow morning. Sleep on it.

Question 5

Rien que le nom me fait peur.

Answer 5

Just the name alone makes me scared.

Question 6

Rien ne vaut la cusine de sa maman.

Answer 6

There is no substitute for your mother’s cooking.

Question 7

Je l’ai écrit en un rien de temps.

Answer 7

I wrote it very quickly

Question 8

Rien qu’à y penser, j’ai mal au cœur

Answer 8

Just thinking about it makes me sick

Question 9

Je ne leur en veux pas malgré tous les coups bas qu’ils m’ont faits.

Answer 9

I don’t hold a grudge against them despite all the nasty things they’ve done to me.

Question 10

Je m’en voudrais de ne pas remercier toutes les personnes qui ont travaillé au projet.

Answer 10

I would be remiss not to mention all the people who worked on the project.

Question 11

Je n’en peux plus !

Answer 11

I can’t take it anymore!

Question 12

Ça y est. C’est parti !

Answer 12

“This is it. We’re off.”

Question 13

Voilà, ça y est.

Answer 13

Finally, it’s over

Question 14

C’est parti, mon kiki

Answer 14

We’re off to the races, buddy

Question 15

c’est fait (it’s done)
c’est fini (it’s finished)
c’est terminé (it’s over)
c’est donné (it’s a gift)
c’est pris (it’s stuck)
c’est oublié (it’s forgotten)
c’est dit (it’s said)
c’est vendu (it’s sold)

Answer 15

see the first card

Question 16

C’est parti

Answer 16

Let’s go / we’re off