French idioms Flashcards
tit-for-tat
à bon chat, bon rat
to a good cat, a good rat
each day as it comes
à chaque jour suffit sa peine
each day’s pain is sufficient for it (reference to the Biblical verse Matthew 6:34)
don’t criticize gifts, accept them gratefully
à cheval donné on ne regarde pas les dents
one does not look at the teeth of a horse that has been given.
very affectionate
amoureuse comme une chatte¹
in love like a female cat
stupidity; stupid remarks
ânerie¹
action proper to a donkey
to tell it like it is; to call a spade a spade
appeler un chat un chat¹
to call a cat a cat
to turn up when least desired or expected
arriver comme un chien dans un jeu de quille¹
to arrive like a dog at a bowling game
to turn up at the absolute worst possible time, to have bad timing
arriver comme un éléphant dans un jeu de quille¹
to arrive like an elephant in a bowling game
to be an easy scapegoat
avoir bon dos
to have [a] good back
to have other/better things to do, to have bigger fish to fry
avoir d’autres chats à fouetter¹
to have other cats to whip
to be attractive
avoir de la gueule¹
to have [a] mouth; to be mouth-watering
to be well read
avoir des lettres
to have letters
to be a very attractive woman
avoir du chien¹
to have “dogginess”
to look puzzled or baffled
avoir l’air d’une poule qui a trouvé un couteau
to look like a hen that has found a knife
to be tired, phased out (e.g. after waking up)
avoir la tête dans le cul
to have one’s head up one’s arse
to have the blues, to be down in the dumps
avoir le cafard
to have the cockroach
to be generous, to give the shirt off one’s back
avoir le cœur sur la main
to have one’s heart in one’s hand
to be lucky
avoir le cul bordé de nouilles
to have an arse full of noodles
to be sure of oneself
avoir le melon
to have the melon
to be scared, to have the jitters or the willies
avoir les jetons
to hold the chips
to have a tiger in one’s tank, to have incredible energy
avoir mangé du lion
to have eaten lion
to menstruate
avoir ses ours¹
to have her bears
to have a frog in your throat
avoir un chat dans la gorge
to have a cat in one’s throat
to have a lisp
avoir un cheveu sur la langue
to have a hair on one’s tongue
to have nerves of steel
avoir un coeur bien accroché
to have one’s heart firmly attached
to shy away from work, to avoid work at all costs
avoir un poil dans la main
to have a hair on one’s hand (i.e., palm)
to be friendly-looking
avoir une bonne gueule¹
to have a good mouth
to be famished
avoir une faim de loup¹
to have a wolf’s hunger
to have a poor memory
avoir une mémoire de lièvre¹
to have a hare’s memory
to have a good memory
avoir une mémoire d’éléphant¹
to have an elephant’s memory
to have a sleepless night
avoir une nuit blanche
to have a white night
to be nasty-looking
avoir une sale gueule¹
to have a filthy muzzle
to drink like a fish
boire comme un trou
to drink like a hole
to be completely useless
Ne rien savoir faire de ses dix doigts.
Not knowing how to do anything with one’s ten fingers
To arrive at the most awkward moment possible
Arriver comme un cheveu sur la soupe
to arrive like the hair in a soup
To give your grain of salt
Mettre son grain de sel.
to give your grain of salt
Head over heels (in love)
Coup de foudre
Strike of lightening
Just saying
Je dis ça, je dis rien.
I say that, I say nothing
To stand someone up
Poser un lapin à quelqu’un
To put a rabbit on someone
To insert a non-sequitur
Sauter du coq à l’âne
To jump from the rooster to the donkey
To be completely out of it
Être à l’ouest
To be in the west
To get angry
La moutarde me/lui monte au nez
the mustard is getting to my nose
to make an embarrassing faux-pas
mettre les pieds dans les plats
To get straight to the point
Aller droit au but
To go straight to the goal
It’s good to think things over or to not rush into something
La nuit porte conseil
To have a lot to do
Il y a du pain sur la planche
There’s bread on the cutting board
Money doesn’t grow on trees
L’argent ne tombe pas du ciel
Money doesn’t fall from the sky
Take the bull by the horns
Prendre le taureau par les cornes
To make something more difficult than it actually is
Chercher midi à quatoze heures
speak with a shaky voice
bêler une chèvre¹
to bleat like a goat
dumb enough to eat hay
bête à manger du foin¹
[so] dumb [as] to eat hay
so stupid you could cry
bête à pleurer¹
[so] dumb [as] to cry
so stupid that…
bête à…¹
very stupid
bête comme ses pieds¹
dumb as one’s feet
very stupid
bête comme un âne¹
dumb as a donkey
stupid as…
bête comme…¹
strange animal
bête curieuse¹
curious beast
nemesis, pet peeve
bête noire¹
black beast
year in, year out
bon an, mal an
good year, bad year
good-natured person
bonne bête¹
good beast
scapegoat
bouc émissaire¹
emissary goat
billy goat
bouc¹
good guy
brave bête¹
brave beast
it’s even, it’s all the same
c’est kif-kif et bourricot
kif-kif is from Arabic and bourricot means donkey
that rings a bell
ça me dit quelque chose
that tells me something
that drives me crazy / that annoys me
ça me prend la tête
that takes my head
that pisses me off
ça me soûle
that makes me drunk
it doesn’t make any sense
ça ne tient pas debout
it doesn’t stand upright
sink or swim
ça passe ou ça casse
it passes or it breaks
bad attitude, ill temper
caractère de chien¹
dog’s personality
nasty disposition
caractère de cochon¹
pig’s personality
he/she is not bad
c’est pas le mauvais cheval
it’s not the wrong (or bad) horse
it is none of your business
ce ne sont pas vos oignons
those are not your onions
it is not a tragedy, it is not the end of the world
ce n’est pas la mort du petit cheval¹
it is not the death of the little horse
it’s nothing special, it’s nothing to write home about
c’est pas le Pérou
it’s not Peru
it’s a big job
c’est un travail de Romain
it’s a Roman’s work
heavily loaded
chargé comme un mulet / une mule¹
pussy (vulgar)
chatte¹
female cat, pussy
to nit-pick
chercher la petite bête
to look for the tiny beast (errors)
favorite theme, argument, trope
cheval de bataille¹
war horse
its bark is worse than its bite
chien qui aboit ne mord pas¹
bite [a] dog that barks does not bite
extreme example of something, hell of a.., bitch of a.,,
chienne de…
bitch of a
local newspaper articles that serve as filler
chiens écrasés¹
[stories about] dogs that have been run over
careless in thought or action, like a bull in a china shop
comme un éléphant dans un magasin du porcelaine¹
like an elephant in a porcelain shop
at ease, like a duck to water
comme un poisson dans l’eau
like a fish in the water
to drive horribly
conduire comme un pied
to drive like a foot
whiplash
coup de lapin¹
hare’s blow
to split hairs
couper les cheveux en quatre
to cut hairs in four
to be as scared as a rabbit
courir comme un lapin
to run like a rabbit
sarcasm has overtaken a conversation
couteaux volent bas
knives are flying low
to cost dearly, to cost an arm and a leg
coûter la peau du cul
to cost the skin of the arse
to be very expensive, to cost an arm and a leg
coûter les yeux de la tête
to cost the eyes in one’s head
to die in an undignified manner, to die like a dog
crever comme un chien¹
to die like a dog
