Voc anglais (hors livres)

Question 1

“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.

Answer 1

quasiment

Question 2

go-to

Answer 2

(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

Question 3

pang

Answer 3

(often in the plural) 
Physical pain or anguish;
Sudden sharp feeling of joy or sorrow
= tiraillement, soubresaut
*
hunger pangs
pangs of conscience / of guilt

Question 4

dispiriting

Answer 4

(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

Question 5

irrespective / irrespective of

Answer 5

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

Question 6

famished

Answer 6

(informal)
Extremely hungry
*
Isn’t dinner ready? I’m famished.

Question 7

to blitz

Answer 7

Process (food) in an electric mixing machine
*
Add the eggs and blitz the mixture

Question 8

to prompt (sb to do sth)

Answer 8

(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.

Question 9

rowdy

Answer 9

Noisy and seeming likely to become violent
= chahuteur, bagarreur
*
Rowdy behaviour

Question 10

stonking

Answer 10

(fam)
Used to emphasise how good something is
*
We had a stonking good time at the party last night

Question 11

adamant
(noun + adj)

préciser prep

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

to see eye to eye (with sb)

Answer 12

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

Question 13

to soften the blow

Answer 13

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

Question 14

to weld

welded

Answer 14

To join two pieces of metal together permanently by melting the parts that touch
= souder
*
Iron spikes have been welded (on) to the railings

Question 15

wittingly / unwittingly

Answer 15

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.

Question 16

stifling

Answer 16

Extremely hot and unpleasant
\+ figuré (situation)
= étouffant, écrasant, oppressant
*
NB : prononce staille-fling

Question 17

to befriend sb

Answer 17

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

Question 18

outwardly

Answer 18

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

Question 19

to have a natter

Answer 19

(familiar, brit)
To talk continuously for a long time without any particular purpose
= papoter
*
Once he starts nattering you just can’t stop him

Question 20

to drive a wedge

Answer 20

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

Question 21

to mull (over)

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

all the rage

Answer 22

(US)
arousing widespread enthusiasm or interest; craze; fad
*
Long hair for men was all the rage in the 70s

Question 23

addled

Answer 23

Unable to think clearly; confused
*
He was so addled by drugs that his crimes could not have been premeditated

Question 24

whiff

Answer 24

A smell that is only smelt briefly or faintly
*
I caught a whiff of eau de cologne

Question 25

to twitch

Answer 25

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

Question 26

to swivel

Answer 26

Turn around a point or axis or on a swivel
= pivoter
swivel chair

Question 27

to cower

Answer 27

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

Question 28

to gibber

gibberish

Answer 28

To speak rapidly, inarticulately, and often foolishly
*
/ˈdʒɪb.ər/
(accent 1ere syllabe)
*
bredouiller / bafouiller / baragouiner
*
gibberish = charabia
(ˈdʒɪbərɪʃ )
(accent 1ere syllabe)
ji·buh·ruhsh

Question 29

disrepair

to fall / to be into disrepair

Answer 29

Poor condition of a building or structure due to neglect
= délabrement
*
The station gradually fell into disrepair
A house in disrepair

Question 30

to deem

Answer 30

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

Question 31

to rule

Answer 31

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

Question 32

to sweep

Answer 32

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

Question 33

hunky-dory

Answer 33

(informal)

Very satisfactory; fine

Question 34

sheer

Answer 34

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

Question 35

to subside

Answer 35

(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

Question 36

barren

Answer 36

(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

Question 37

moor

Answer 37

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.)

Question 38

let go (of something/someone)

Answer 38

To stop holding something or someone
*
Brandon let go of her hand and ran across the street
Let go of me !

Question 39

at once

Answer 39

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.

Question 40

approach

Answer 40

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)

Question 41

ubiquitous

Answer 41

present, appearing, or found everywhere.
*
She is the most ubiquitous media personality around.
His ubiquitous influence was felt by all the family

Question 42

momentarily

Answer 42

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

Question 43

411

Answer 43

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.

Question 44

BFD

Answer 44

(slang)
Big Fucking / Freaking Deal
*
"Jason just got a new Testarosa." "Oh, really? BFD."
Matt: Oh! LOOK! Theres President Bush! 
Sarah: BFD!

Question 45

perp

Answer 45

(slang, US)
perpetuator of a crime
*
“We have the perp in custody,” the policeman said.

Question 46

za

Answer 46

short for pizza
*
the mushroom ‘za was amazing

Question 47

to cut someone some slack

Answer 47

(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.”

Question 48

laugh track

Answer 48

rire enregistré (pour les sitcoms par exemple)

= canned laughter

Question 49

seething

Answer 49

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.

Question 50

to ride on the coat-tail of sb

Answer 50

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

Question 51

scathing

Answer 51

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.

Question 52

chequered

Answer 52

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.

Question 53

dork

Answer 53

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).

Question 54

baloney

Answer 54

large saucisse fumée faite d’un mélange de viande
*
Lunch was a bologna sandwich and cold soda.
**
vient de “bologna”

Question 55

vagaries

Answer 55

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.

Question 56

lip service

Answer 56

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.

Question 57

styrofoam

Answer 57

polystyrene

Question 58

straight-A

Answer 58

getting the best results in all examinations

She had always been a straight-A student until she met him.
A straight A report card

Question 59

incidental

Answer 59

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.

Question 60

tepid

Answer 60

lukewarm
showing little enthusiasm
*
tepid water
the applause was tepid