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Idioms > Idioms 1 > Flashcards

Idioms 1 Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

flairer qqch de louche

A

to smell a rat

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2
Q

changer de tactique/son fusil d’épaule

A

to change tack

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3
Q

chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin

A

to look for a needle in a haystack

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4
Q

prendre qqn sous son aile

A

to take someone under your wing

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5
Q

voler de ses propres ailes

A

to stand on your own two feet

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6
Q

avoir du plomb dans l’aile

A

to be in a bad way

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7
Q

brasser de l’air

A

to be all mouth

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8
Q

ne pas avoir d’états d’âme

A

to have no qualms about doing sth

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9
Q

vivre d’amour et d’eau fraîche

A

to live on love alone

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10
Q

être aux anges

A

to be on top of the world/over the moon

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11
Q

arrondir les angles

A

to smooth things over

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12
Q

y avoir anguille sous roche

A

sth fishy/to smell a rat

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13
Q

en avoir pour son argent

A

good value for money

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14
Q

jeter de l’argent par les fenêtres

A

to throw money down the drain

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15
Q

prendre pour argent comptant

A

to take sth at face value

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16
Q

une arme à double tranchant

A

a double-edged sword

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17
Q

faire ses premières armes

A

to learn the ropes

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18
Q

sortir l’artillerie lourde

A

to bring out the big guns

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19
Q

être plein aux as

A

to be rolling in it

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20
Q

ne pas être dans son assiette

A

to be under the weather

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21
Q

mettre qqch en veilleuse

A

to put sth on the back burner

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22
Q

faire acte d’autorité/s’opposer à qqch

A

to put your foot down

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23
Q

faire l’autruche

A

to bury your head in the sand

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24
Q

se faire l’avocat du diable

A

to play devil’s advocate

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25
Q

être mis tout de suite dans le bain

A

to be thrown in at the deep end

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26
Q

se remettre dans le bain

A

to get back into the swing of things

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27
Q

se tirer une balle dans le pied

A

to shoot yourself in the foot

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28
Q

repartir sur de nouvelles bases

A

to start afresh

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29
Q

mener en bateau

A

to lead so up the garden path

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30
Q

mettre des bâtons dans les roues

A

to throw a spanner in the works

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31
Q

jeter le bébé avec l’eau du bain

A

to throw the baby out with the bathwater

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32
Q

se battre bec et ongle

A

to fight foot and nail

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33
Q

mettre un bémol

A

to tone sth down

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34
Q

chercher la petite bête

A

to nitpick

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35
Q

faire marcher qqn

A

to pull sb’s leg

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36
Q

faire faux bond

A

to let sb down/to stand so up

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37
Q

dépasser les bornes

A

to go too far

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38
Q

faire mouche

A

to hit the nail on the head

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39
Q

lécher les bottes de qqn

A

to lick sb’s booths

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40
Q

ne pas en démordre

A

to stick to your guns

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41
Q

enlever les mots de la bouche de qqn

A

to take the words out of somebody’s mouth

42
Q

pour une bouchée de pain

A

for next to nothing

43
Q

mettre les bouchées doubles

A

to redouble your efforts

44
Q

provoquer une levée de boucliers

A

to be up in arms about sth

45
Q

tirer à boulets rouges

A

to lambast [læmˈbæst]

46
Q

joindre les deux bouts

A

to make ends meet

47
Q

avoir le bras long

A

to have friends in high places

48
Q

baisser les bras

A

to give up

49
Q

ne pas casser des briques

A

to be nothing to write home about/no big deal

50
Q

aller droit au but

A

to cut to the chase

51
Q

se retrouver en carafe

A

to be left stranded

52
Q

se tenir à carreau

A

to keep your nose clean

53
Q

faire profile bas/se faire oublier

A

to lie low

54
Q

jouer cartes sur table

A

to put your cards on the table

55
Q

revoir sa copie/tout recommencer

A

to be back to the drawingboard

56
Q

la cerise sur le gâteau

A

the icing on the cake

57
Q

au petit bonheur la chance/au pif

A

a shot in the dark

58
Q

démarrer sur les chapeaux de roue

A

to get off to a flying start

59
Q

mettre la charrue avant les boeufs

A

to put the cart before the horse

60
Q

avoir un chat dans la gorge

A

to have a frog in your throat

61
Q

avoir d’autres chats à fouetter

A

to have other fish to fry

62
Q

ça ne me fait ni chaud ni froid

A

I couldn’t care less

63
Q

rester dans le droit chemin

A

to keep in the straight and narrow

64
Q

faire du chemin

A

to come a long way

65
Q

ne pas y aller par quatre chemins

A

not beat about the bush

66
Q

arriver comme un cheveu sur la soupe

A

to turn up at a very bad time

67
Q

être tiré par les cheveux

A

to be far-fetched

68
Q

ne pas arriver à la cheville de

A

not hold a candle to someone

69
Q

ménager la chèvre et le chou

A

to sit on the fence

70
Q

se donner un mal de chien

A

to bend over backwards

71
Q

avoir l’embarras du choix

A

to be spoilt for choice

72
Q

remuer ciel et terre

A

to leave no stone unturned

73
Q

faire entendre le même son de cloche

A

to sing from the same hymn sheet [ˈhɪm]

74
Q

piquer une colère

A

to throw a tantrum

75
Q

mener un combat perdu d’avance

A

to fight a losing battle

76
Q

le parcours du combattant

A

an uphill struggle

77
Q

faire des plans sur la comète

A

to build castles in the air

78
Q

avoir un compte à régler avec qqn

A

to have a bone to pick with someone

79
Q

s’acheter une conduite

A

to clean up your act

80
Q

sauter du coq à l’âne

A

to go off on a tangent [ˈtændʒənt]

81
Q

être sur la corde raide

A

to walk a tightrope

82
Q

voir le bon côté des choses

A

to look on the bright side of things

83
Q

être laissé de côté

A

to be sidelined/left on the shelf

84
Q

se serrer les coudes

A

to stick together

85
Q

en faire voir de toutes les couleurs

A

to give someone a hard time

86
Q

ne pas être dans le coup

A

to be out of touch

87
Q

être sous la coupe de qqn

A

to be under someone’s thumb

88
Q

avoir le courage de ses opinions

A

to have the courage of your convictions

89
Q

être pris de court

A

to be caught off guard

90
Q

mettre le couteau sous la gorge

A

to hold a gun to someone’s head

91
Q

remuer le couteau dans la plaie

A

to twist the knife in the wound

92
Q

être à couteaux tirés

A

to be a daggers drawn

93
Q

piquer une crise

A

to go ballistic

94
Q

faire une croix sur qqch

A

to kiss sth goodbye

95
Q

ne pas y aller avec le dois de la cuillère

A

to make no bones about sth

96
Q

se dégonfler

A

to get cold feet

97
Q

avoir une dent contre qqn

A

to have a grudge against someone

98
Q

apprendre à ses dépens

A

to learn the hard way

99
Q

avoir le dessus

A

to have the upper hand

100
Q

être dûr à la détente

A

to be slow off the mark

Idioms (3 decks)

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