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Proficiency English > Proficiency idioms > Flashcards

Proficiency idioms Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

avoir des doutes sur ce que je fais ou pas

A

to have half a mind to do something

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2
Q

Trop, c’est trop!

A

OTT (over the top)

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3
Q

faire un grand détour

A

to give a wide berth from

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4
Q

de mal en pis

A

from the frying pan into the fire

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5
Q

sourire de toutes ses dents

A

to grin from ear to ear

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6
Q

en vouloir à quelqu’un

A

to have a grudge against someone

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7
Q

laisse-toi aller

A

let your hair down

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8
Q

nager dans l’argent

A

to be rolling in money

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9
Q

prendre pour exemple

A

to take a leaf out of someone’s book

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10
Q

faire des sauts

A

to bound downstairs

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11
Q

être en forme

A

to be as fit as a fiddle, to be as right as rain

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12
Q

entamer quelque chose de trop grand pour soi

A

to bite off more than you can chew

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13
Q

être trop vieux/vieille

A

to be too long in the tooth

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14
Q

aller tout droit (imagé)

A

to make a bee line

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15
Q

qui le trouve le garde

A

finders keepers

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16
Q

cela ne me dit rien

A

it doesn’t ring a bell

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17
Q

prendre tes entrailles comme jaretières

A

to have your guts for garters

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18
Q

je ne dirai rien

A

mum is the word

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19
Q

très bien s’entendre

A

to get on like a house on fire

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20
Q

devenir fou

A

to loose one’s marbles

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21
Q

faire quelque chose avec très peu de moyen

A

to do something on a shoestring

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22
Q

de bouche à oreille

A

word of mouth

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23
Q

soulager quelqu’un

A

to take the load off of someone’s shoulders

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24
Q

trouver une issue pour son trop-plein d’énergie

A

to find an outlet for someone’s energy

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25
Q

être à couteaux tirés

A

to be at daggers drawn

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26
Q

je n’oserais pas le jurer

A

I wouldn’t bet on it

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27
Q

s’écarter du bon chemin

A

to stray from the right path

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28
Q

priver quelqu’un de quelque chose

A

to stint someone of something

I never stinted on time or affection

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29
Q

prendre ombrage de quelque chose

A

to shy at something

He never shied away from arguing his point with me

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30
Q

accaparer la vedette

A

to hog the spotlight

They never let me hog the spotlight

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31
Q

calembours, jeux de mots

A

he makes puns and jokes

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32
Q

peser les avantages

A

to weigh the odds

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33
Q

un changement pour un mieux

A

a change for the better

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34
Q

changer d’avis

A

to have a change of heart

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35
Q

quand quelque chose ne va pas bien

A

something goes downhill

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36
Q

when things are likely to happen

A

something is on the cards

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37
Q

when people know what happened next

A

the rest is history

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38
Q

manquer d’argent

A

to run out of money

i’m running out of money

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39
Q

remplacer quelqu’un

A

to step in for someone

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40
Q

quand quelque chose à laquelle on ne s’attendait pas arrive

A

out of the blue

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41
Q

porter le fardeau

A

to shoulder the burden

It’s part of a manager’s role to shoulder the burden of complaints made by customers

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42
Q

payer la facture

A

to foot the bill

Don’t worry about paying for your hotel. I’m happy to foot the bill.

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43
Q

faire face à la réalité

A

to face the music

On his return, he finally had to face the music and told his wife about his debts.

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44
Q

se conformer à

A

to toe the line

I always toed the line on company policy, even if I disagreed with it.

45
Q

accepter l’idée

A

to stomach the idea

She couldn’t stomach the idea of moving to a big city.

46
Q

écarter quelqu’un d’un coup de coude

A

to elbow somebody aside

The woman elbowed people aside in the queue. She wanted to get on the plane first.

47
Q

contre vents et marées

A

through thick and thin

48
Q

la gloire et la fortune

A

fame and fortune

When I was 18, I left home to find fame and fortune.

49
Q

ne tenir qu’à un fil

A

touch and go

It was touch and go whether he could get to the airport on time.

50
Q

avant tout

A

first and foremost

First and foremost, we need to solve the budget before we can move on to other issues.

51
Q

à maintes reprises

A

time and again

Time and again, we see this pattern of behaviour repeating itself.

52
Q

des concessions mutuelles

A

give and take

There needs to be a bit of give and take in every relationship.

53
Q

être l’âme de quelque chose

A

to be the life and soul of

My brother is the life and soul of our family.

54
Q

la chair de sa chair

A

flesh and blood

My aunt treats her relatives badly, considering they are her own flesh and blood.

55
Q

être laissé pour compte

A

to be left high and dry

When the company closed down, I was left high and dry without a job.

56
Q

être écrit noir sur blanc

A

to be in black and white

How could you not understand? Look at this letter. It’s all in black and white.

57
Q

en toute justice

A

by rights

By rights, you should be in bed by 7pm.

58
Q

se porter comme un charme

A

to be as right as rain

I have had a cold but now I’m feeling as right as rain.

59
Q

être dans son droit

A

to be within one’s right

You’d be well within your rights to take that dress back to the shop - it’s torn at the collar.

60
Q

to say the things you are expected to say

A

to make the right noises

He made all the right noises so I expect he will be promoted ahead of me.

61
Q

être décontenancé - suggests s.o. has been taken by surprise and stopped in their tracks

A

to be taken aback

62
Q

se préparer au pire - fermer les écoutilles - to prepare for trouble that is unavoidable and coming your way

A

to batten down the hatches

63
Q

when somebody is totally at the mercy of third parties and unable to have any influence over the circumstances surrounding them - avoir quelqu’un à sa merci

A

to have somebody over a barrel

64
Q

jusqu’au bout - the absolute end

A

the bitter end

65
Q

tomber à l’eau

A

to go by the board

66
Q

dans l’ensemble

A

by and large = broadly speaking

67
Q

attirer l’attention de quelqu’un

A

to catch somebody’s eye

68
Q

regarder quelqu’un dans les yeux

A

to look somebody in the eye

69
Q

être attentif aux détails

A

to have an eye for

70
Q

fermer les yeux

A

to turn a blind eye

71
Q

être d’accord

A

to see eye to eye with

72
Q

être sous les feux de l’actualité

A

to be in the public eye

73
Q

when your luck has run out and you are close to failing altogether

A

when you have had your chips

74
Q

pulling rapidly out of a difficult situation and escaping without disadvantage

A

to cut and run

75
Q

when an idea or scheme has no chance of success

A

dead in the water

76
Q

a time when we would be sitting around with nothing to do - ne pas trop savoir quoi faire

A

to be at a loose end

77
Q

être à bout - you have reached the limit of your patience

A

to be at the end of someone’s tether

78
Q

risquer de s’isoler - to put yourself in a disadvantaged position to support someone

A

to go out on a limb for someone

79
Q

to do something for a long time

A

to do something until you are blue in the face

80
Q

donner un nouveau souffle - to improve something that was old and out of fashion

A

to give something a new lease of life

81
Q

agir par intérêt - to have a strong opinion about a subject which you express whenever you have the chance

A

to have an axe to grind

82
Q

trimer sur quelque chose - to work very hard at something

A

to slog away at something

83
Q

être à la traîne - to fail to keep up

A

to lag behind

Why have some states lagged behind others in improving their environmental policy?

84
Q

empester, puer - to smell strongly of something

A

to reek of something

Ever since he got a job in that restaurant, he is reeking of fried food.

85
Q

piger quelque chose - to get to know or understand something

A

to cotton on to something

It took me a while to cotton on to spicy food but now I love it.

86
Q

harceler quelqu’un jusqu’à ce qu’il fasse quelque chose

A

to goad someone into doing something

When someone goaded her into quitting an activity, she would go out of her way to do it even more

87
Q

développer - to give something more substance

A

to flesh something out

Talks are continuing between the UK and the EU to try to flesh out details of the agreement.

88
Q

se débrouiller - to manage to get through something but without being organised or with a clear idea of what you are doing

A

to muddle through something

I managed to muddle through my exams and got the grades I needed to go to university.

89
Q

atteindre son point le plus bas - to reach the lowest point of a changing situation with the prospect of it improving

A

to bottom out

Growth in the economy may have bottomed out, but inflation will remain a persistent problem.

90
Q

totally determined

A

grim determination

91
Q

a very special occasion

A

am auspicious occasion

92
Q

a cautious estimate

A

a conservative estimate

93
Q

when you are careful with food and money

A

a frugal lifestyle

94
Q

people who have always hated each other

A

to be sworn enemies

95
Q

to be very tempted indeed

A

to be sorely tempted

I was sorely tempted to report his incompetence to his line manager

96
Q

when something stops and then starts again

A

if something happens in fits and starts

97
Q

to be in a helpless or abandoned situation

A

to be high and dry

The strike at the bank left the customers high and dry over the weekend, with many unable to make withdrawals

98
Q

ordinary members of a workforce as opposed to the management

A

the rank and file

99
Q

every part of a place

A

every nook and cranny

100
Q

être déclaré nul(le) et non avenu(e)

A

to be null and void

101
Q

to save on money by spending less on things you’d normally buy or pay for

A

to scrimp and save

102
Q

gagner quelque chose loyalement

A

to win something fair and square

103
Q

when something is not liked at all

A

something goes down like a lead balloon

104
Q

to have an excellent eyesight and notice everything

A

to have eyes like a hawk

105
Q

when someone is very hard

A

if someone is as hard as nails

106
Q

to be very safe indeed

A

to be as safe as houses

107
Q

to be very boring

A

to be as dull as dishwater

108
Q

to be very clean

A

to be as clean as a whistle

109
Q

traficoter - when someone is involved in something not entirely within the rules, and perhaps gaining more than they should be

A

to be on the fiddle

Proficiency English (2 decks)

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