Voc anglais (hors livres) Flashcards
“all but”
By the end of the 15th century, central English authority in Ireland had all but disappeared, and a renewed Irish culture and language, albeit with Norman influences, was dominant again.
quasiment
go-to
(informal)
Repeatedly chosen for reliably good results, knowledge, skill, or performance
Desirable; of choice
*
= incontournable, privilégié, de référence
*
Smith is your go-to person if you want lasting results
Cheesecake is my go-to food whenever I feel down
pang
(often in the plural) Physical pain or anguish; Sudden sharp feeling of joy or sorrow = tiraillement, soubresaut * hunger pangs pangs of conscience / of guilt
dispiriting
(transitive verb)
Causing you to not have much hope about a particular situation or problem
= décourageant
*
It was a bit dispiriting to see so few people at the meeting
irrespective / irrespective of
Without regard for conditions, circumstances, or consequences; unbiased; independent; impartial
= indépendamment
*
Child benefit is paid irrespective of income levels
The legislation must be applied irrespective of someone’s ethnic origins
famished
(informal)
Extremely hungry
*
Isn’t dinner ready? I’m famished.
to blitz
Process (food) in an electric mixing machine
*
Add the eggs and blitz the mixture
to prompt (sb to do sth)
(of an event or fact) Cause or bring about (an action or feeling)
Encourage (a hesitating speaker) to say something
= inciter, provoquer
*
What prompted you to say that?
I don’t know what prompted him to leave.
rowdy
Noisy and seeming likely to become violent
= chahuteur, bagarreur
*
Rowdy behaviour
stonking
(fam)
Used to emphasise how good something is
*
We had a stonking good time at the party last night
adamant
(noun + adj)
préciser prep
Impossible to persuade, or unwilling to change an opinion or decision
= résolu, inflexible
*
[ + that ] I’ve told her she should stay at home and rest but she’s adamant that she’s coming.
We’ve tried to talk him into coming with us, but he’s adamant about staying here.
She is an adamant defender of women’s rights.
to see eye to eye (with sb)
To have or come to the same opinion or point of view
*
We’ve never seen eye to eye
Yuriko saw eye to eye with Yul on almost every aspect of the production
The two did not see eye to eye on on certain political issues
to soften the blow
To make a bad situation less serious
To make a difficult experience less unpleasant
= amortir le choc
*
He lost his job, but he has enough money in the bank to soften the blow
I put my arm around her before I gave her the bad news to try to soften the blow
to weld
welded
To join two pieces of metal together permanently by melting the parts that touch
= souder
*
Iron spikes have been welded (on) to the railings
wittingly / unwittingly
In a way that involves knowing or planning what you are doing
= en connaissance de cause, sciemment
*
Wittingly or unwittingly, she hurt my feelings again.
We’re unwitting victims of the system.
stifling
Extremely hot and unpleasant \+ figuré (situation) = étouffant, écrasant, oppressant * NB : prononce staille-fling
to befriend sb
to make friend with sb, to become or act as a friend
= prendre en amitié, venir en aide
*
While at college, he had befriended a young student from China
outwardly
That relates to how people, situations, or things seem to be, rather than how they are inside
= en apparence
*
They may feel tired and though outwardly calm
to have a natter
(familiar, brit)
To talk continuously for a long time without any particular purpose
= papoter
*
Once he starts nattering you just can’t stop him
to drive a wedge
To cause disagreement or anger between (people who had been friendly before)
*
A fight over their parents’ estate drove a wedge between the brothers.
wedge : objet en forme de triangle pour fendre le bois, caler une porte
aussi une part de gateau ou un talon compensé
to mull (over)
To think about (a fact, proposal, or request) deeply and at length
*
She began to mull over the various possibilities
Last month, a federal grand jury began mulling evidence in the case.
all the rage
(US)
arousing widespread enthusiasm or interest; craze; fad
*
Long hair for men was all the rage in the 70s
addled
Unable to think clearly; confused
*
He was so addled by drugs that his crimes could not have been premeditated
whiff
A smell that is only smelt briefly or faintly
*
I caught a whiff of eau de cologne
to twitch
To make a sudden small movement with a part of the body, usually without intending to
= avoir un mouvement convulsif / un spasme
*
He tried to suppress a smile but felt the corner of his mouth twitch
to swivel
Turn around a point or axis or on a swivel
= pivoter
swivel chair
to cower
To lower your head or body in fear, often while moving backwards
= se recroqueviller / se tapir
*
Children cowered in terror as the shoot-out erupted
to gibber
gibberish
To speak rapidly, inarticulately, and often foolishly * /ˈdʒɪb.ər/ (accent 1ere syllabe) * bredouiller / bafouiller / baragouiner * gibberish = charabia (ˈdʒɪbərɪʃ ) (accent 1ere syllabe) ji·buh·ruhsh
disrepair
to fall / to be into disrepair
Poor condition of a building or structure due to neglect
= délabrement
*
The station gradually fell into disrepair
A house in disrepair
to deem
Regard or consider in a specified way Souvent au passif (be deemed) = considérer, juger, estimer * The event was deemed a great success to deem it wise to do sth to deem sth unnecessary
to rule
pronounce authoritatively and legally to be the case (by judge, government etc)
to be the most important and controlling influence on someone
*
an industrial tribunal ruled that he was unfairly dismissed from his job
The desperate desire to go to Moscow ruled their lives
to sweep
To move, especially quickly and powerfully
*
Everyone looked up as she swept into the room
The fire swept through the house
A 1970s fashion revival is sweeping Europe.
*
/swiːp/
sweep
hunky-dory
(informal)
Very satisfactory; fine
sheer
Used to emphasize how very great, important, or powerful a quality or feeling is; nothing except
*
The suggestion is sheer nonsense
It was sheer coincidence that we met
to subside
(of a condition) to become less strong, or (of an activity or disagreement) to become less violent
= se calmer, s’apaiser
storm / fear / pain
*
The police are hoping that the violence will soon subside
barren
(of land) too poor to produce much or any vegetation (female) incapable of producing offspring * barren women / land * /ˈbær.ən/ (accent 1ere syllabe) ba·ruhn * = stérile, aride
moor
a tract of open uncultivated upland, typically covered with heather (= bruyère)
= landes = étendue de terre où ne croissent que certaines plantes sauvages (ajonc, bruyère, genêt, etc.)
let go (of something/someone)
To stop holding something or someone
*
Brandon let go of her hand and ran across the street
Let go of me !
at once
Immediately
= tout de suite, à la fois / simultanément
*
Remove from the heat, add the parsley, toss and serve at once
I knew at once that something was wrong.
They all arrived at once.
Everybody is talking at once.
approach
a road, sea passage, or other way leading to a place.
*
The northern approaches to London
There is a very steep approach to the house.
We got stuck in a traffic jam on the approach road (= voie d’accès)
ubiquitous
present, appearing, or found everywhere.
*
She is the most ubiquitous media personality around.
His ubiquitous influence was felt by all the family
momentarily
UK = mm sens France = momentanément for a very short time * as he passed Jenny's door, he paused momentarily *** US at any moment; very soon = immédiatement * my husband will be here to pick me up momentarily
411
lire : four one one
(slang US)
The latest scoop, information or news.
*
When guys come to you for the 411 on your friend, tell them they should talk to her.
Give me the 411.
Guess what?! I have the 411 on Nick and Judy’s breakup.
**
Numéro des renseignements téléphonique US et Canada.
BFD
(slang) Big Fucking / Freaking Deal * "Jason just got a new Testarosa." "Oh, really? BFD." Matt: Oh! LOOK! Theres President Bush! Sarah: BFD!
perp
(slang, US)
perpetuator of a crime
*
“We have the perp in custody,” the policeman said.
za
short for pizza
*
the mushroom ‘za was amazing
to cut someone some slack
(slang, US)
être plus indulgent avec qq/un (souvent à cause de circonstances particulières)
slack = mou (parti d’une corde non tendue)
*
When you’re new at a job, colleagues and bosses cut you a little slack.
“Andrew’s late again.” “Cut him some slack - his wife just had a baby.”
laugh track
rire enregistré (pour les sitcoms par exemple)
= canned laughter
seething
bouillonnant (intérieurement / secrètement)
to seethe = to boil (pour un liquide)
*
To be seething with anger
A feeling of seething resentment led to angry exchanges between the teams.
to ride on the coat-tail of sb
to be able to do sth because of the other person’s success, and not because of your own efforts.
coat-tail = pan d’un tailcoat (queue de pie)
*
If a father gives his son a job, the son might be accused of riding his dad’s coattails.
she’s riding the coat-tails of the other three and doesn’t deserve to be mentioned alongside them
scathing
cinglant, acerbe (critique, réponse)
*
to give somebody a scathing look
He then launched a scathing attack on previous leaders.
He was very scathing about the report, saying it was inaccurate.
chequered
marked by periods of varied fortune or discreditable incidents.
= en dents de scie
*
The chequered history of post-war Britain.
Alan had had a very chequered past and had been to prison lots of times.
dork
Personne idiote, socialement inepte, ou décalée par rapport au mode de vie de son époque (parfois confondu avec geek ou nerd, mais n’implique pas le même niveau intellectuel).
baloney
large saucisse fumée faite d’un mélange de viande
*
Lunch was a bologna sandwich and cold soda.
**
vient de “bologna”
vagaries
rarement au singulier (vagary)
(formal)
aléas d’une situation ou du comportement de q’un sur lequel on n’a pas de contrôle.
“vagaries of the weather” = caprices du temps
*
I take an assortment of clothes on holiday, as a provision against the vagaries of the weather.
His wealth fluctuates with the vagaries of the stock market.
lip service
promesses / paroles en l’air
affirmer qq chose publiquement sans l’associer à un acte
le plus souvent avec “pay”
*
She paid lip service to blue-collar workers, but she did nothing to help them.
Many brands pay lip service to sustainability.
styrofoam
polystyrene
straight-A
getting the best results in all examinations
She had always been a straight-A student until she met him.
A straight A report card
incidental
If one thing is incidental to another, it is less important than the other thing or is not a major part of it.
= d’importance secondaire
*
The playing of music proved to be incidental to the main business of the evening. [+ to]
You should also include incidental costs such as taxis and accommodation.
tepid
lukewarm showing little enthusiasm * tepid water the applause was tepid
