french idioms Flashcards

(a level)

1
Q

“au fur et à mesure”

A

little by little

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2
Q

“aller de l’avant”

A

to move(/go) forward

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3
Q

“baisser les bras”

A

to give up

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4
Q

“ça en vaut la peine”

A

to be worth it

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5
Q

“couper la poire en deux”

A

to find a compromise

“(to) split the pair in two”

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6
Q

“avoir d’autres chats à fouetter”

A

to have other things to do

“to have other cats to whip” –> (to have other fish to fry)

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7
Q

“être sans voix”

A

to be speechless

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8
Q

“c’est la goutte d’eau qui fait déborder la vase”

A

it’s the straw that broke the camel’s back

“it’s the drop of water that makes the vase overflow”

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9
Q

“avoir plusiers cordes à son arc”

A

(to have) more than one string to one’s/their bow

idek what this means in english sooo

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10
Q

“avoir la tête sur les épaules”

A

to be sensible

“to have a good head on your shoulders”

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11
Q

“avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre”

A

to bite off more than you can chew

“to have eyes bigger than your stomach”

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12
Q

“être à l’Ouest”

A

t o b e s p a c e d o u t

“to be in the West”

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13
Q

“il ne faut pas juger un livre à sa couverture”

A

you can’t judge a book by its cover

(literal translation = “musn’t”, not “can’t”)

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14
Q

“L’habit ne fait pas le moine”

A

the clothes don’t make the man

“the clothes don’t make the monk”

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15
Q

“il y a anguille sous roche”

A

there is something fishy going on

“there is an eel under the rock”

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16
Q

“tomber dans les pommes”

A

to faint

“to fall into apples”

17
Q

“mettre la charrue avant les boeufs”

A

to put the cart before the horse

whatever that means…?

18
Q

“un tien vaut mieux que deux tu l’auras”

A

a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

so poetic: “one you have is better than two you will have”

19
Q

“L’avenir appartient à ceux que se lèvent tôt”

A

the early bird catches/gets the worm

“the future is for those who wake up early”

20
Q

“sauter/passer du coq à l’âne”

A

to jump from pillar to post

“to jump from the cock to the donkey”

21
Q

“poser un lapin”

A

to stand somebody up

to put a rabbit

22
Q

“prendre son courage à deux mains”

A

to take your courage in both hands