French Idiomatic Expressions

Question 1

lets get back to our sheep (let’s get back to what we were talking about)

ex. we’ve talked about vacation plans long enough. let’s get back to what we were talking about before and focus on the budget for the trip

Answer 1

revenons à nos moutons

ex. on a assez parlé des projets de vacances. revenons à nos moutons et concentrons-nous sur le budget du voyage

Question 2

it’s the end of the beans (this is the last straw or things have gone too far)

ex. i forgot my wallet, and now my car ran out of gas. things have gone too far

Answer 2

c’est la fin des haricots

ex. j’ai oublié mon portefeuille, et maintenant ma voiture est en panne d’essence. c’est la fin des haricots

Question 3

to have the cockroach (to be down in the dumps or to be feeling blue)

ex. ever since he lost his job, he’s been down in the dumps

Answer 3

avoir le cafard

ex. depuis qu’il a perdu son travail, il a le cafard

Question 4

to call a cat a cat (to call a spade a spade in english or to emphasize speaking plainly)

ex. let’s not sugarcoat it, let’s call a spade a spade

Answer 4

appeler un chat un chat une pute une pute

ex. ne tournons pas autour du pot, appelons un chat un chat une pute une pute

Question 5

a lighting strike (love at first sight)

ex. they met at the party, and it was love at first sight

Answer 5

coup de foudre

ex. ils se sont rencontrés à la fête, et ce fut un coup de foudre

Question 6

to add water to ones wine (to compromise or moderate one’s stance)

ex. in negotiations, sometimes you have to put water in your wine

Answer 6

mettre de l’eau dans son vin

ex. en négociations, il faut parfois mettre de l’eau dans son vin

Question 7

to put down a rabbit (to stand someone up)

ex. i waited for him at the restaurant, but he stood me up

Answer 7

poser un lapin

ex. je l’ai attendu au restaurant, mais il ne s’est pas présenté. Il m’a posé un lapin

Question 8

to have the butter and the money for the butter (to have one’s cake and eat it too)

ex. she wanted the promotion at work, but she also wanted to work fewer hours. it’s like having your cake and eating it too. eventually, she realized she needed to strike a balance and find a compromise with her boss

Answer 8

avoir le beurre et l’argent du beurre

ex. elle voulait la promotion au travail, mais elle voulait aussi travailler moins d’heures. c’est un peu comme vouloir avoir le beurre et l’argent du beurre. finalement, elle a réalisé qu’elle devait trouver un équilibre et négocier un compromis avec son patron

Question 9

one swallow doesn’t make spring (one good thing doesn’t necessarily mean that the general situation is better)

• in english we would say one swallow doesn’t make a summer
• in france a swallow is a potential sign of spring, and in america it means summer might be around the corner