Questions tagged [expressions-idiomatiques]
Phrases ou expressions dont les mots portent une signification différente du sens littéral.
353
questions
2
votes
3answers
65 views
How do French people typically say, 'from all the odds and ends we had lying around'?
I'm not sure a French expression matching with this exists but French language is rich in the scope of their expressions, so I must try. What is a typical way to say, 'from all the odds and ends we ...
2
votes
2answers
961 views
Can “être sur” mean “to be about” ?
Can "être sur" be used as "to be about"? Examples:
Ce livre est sur la naissance du capitalisme.
C'est sur le vol de la plus grande banque du pays.
5
votes
4answers
3k views
French equivalent of “Make leaps and bounds”
Talking about an English grammar book to some French friends I wanted to say something like
Use this book and soon you will be making leaps and bounds.
In fact I have seen the expression in this ...
4
votes
7answers
511 views
“To go from zero to hero”
I was talking to my colleagues about one Mechanics book and I wanted to say something like
With this book any student may go from zero to hero.
Or equivalently
This book may take any student ...
0
votes
0answers
29 views
Idiom Involving Histoire [duplicate]
Here is a passage from a published translation of a popular novel that was originally written in English:
"Je ne mis pas longtemps à transporter mes affaires à l'étage. J'avais la grande chambre à l'...
0
votes
2answers
58 views
Comment est-ce qu'on dit “I've got you right where I want you”
Je suis en train de jouer un match de Scrabble en ligne, un match que je suis sûr de perdre. Je voudrais dire, en plaisantant bien sûr, "I've got you right where I want you".
Google Translate m'a ...
1
vote
3answers
111 views
French equivalents of “an inside day”
Man, I'm beat from all the climbing and such. Today’s got to be just an inside day.
This is a humourous way of saying "being cooped up in the house all day by his/her own free will, spending a ...
0
votes
1answer
75 views
Can “ Du coup” render “By the way”?
I came across this question
How to translate “By the way”? — Comment traduire « By the way » ?
I wanted to answer it by mentioning "Du coup" but I was not sure. I think it is not mentioned ...
5
votes
2answers
200 views
French equivalents of “some people”, as in “Honestly, some people!”
To express the idea of "Honestly, some people!" (said irritatedly), in conversation I said jokingly:
Tu ne sais pas que c’est mal élevé d’interrompre une conversation ? Franchement, il y a de ces ...
16
votes
10answers
9k views
“It is what it is” in French
According to
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/it+is+what+it+is
this idiomatic expression is used to talk about the
The situation, circumstance, or outcome (that) has already happened or been
...
5
votes
1answer
75 views
selon le vs selon les
Are all sentences below correct? If so, is there a difference of meaning between the two sentences of each pair?
Example 1:
Selon la culture, la politesse peut prendre différentes formes.
Selon les ...
2
votes
1answer
57 views
Is d'accord used to express permission…or that something is allowed?
I know that "d'accord" expresses agreement...as in Okay.
But is it also used to say something is "allowed". As in "Is it Okay for us to wait here?".
4
votes
3answers
126 views
“Faire le buzz” / “faire du buzz”
Les expressions « faire le buzz / faire du buzz » sont-elles assez répandues en dehors des mondes technologique internet, entreprise, marketing, etc. ?
Comment doit-on prononcer buzz afin d'être bien ...
1
vote
3answers
358 views
What does “un pareil soin” mean here?
So here is a sentence by Montaigne, I can get the overall meaning of it but I really can not figure out the meaning of "un pareil soin" here, and as for the "de" before "un pareil soin", I think it ...
3
votes
2answers
211 views
Comment explique-t-on le sens de « ver » dans la locution « Tirer les vers du nez » ?
On a l'expression (lui) tirer les vers du nez pour « obtenir de quelqu'un, par la parole, une information qu'il ne souhaite pas donner » (TLFi), par exemple :
Ils tentaient de lui tirer les vers du ...
2
votes
1answer
65 views
Translating “the price of independence” into French
If you translated the phrase "the price of independence" very literally into French, would it have any meaning for a native speaker? Or is there some idiom that better conveys the meaning?
3
votes
3answers
104 views
Is there an equivalent to “virtue signaling” in French?
English idiomatic expressions aren't easily translatable in French...
I thought of "vertu ostentatoire" but a single word would be good.
2
votes
1answer
73 views
“Handle/treat someone/something with kids gloves”: translation variants and phrasing?
I'm looking at the translations for the idiom handle/treat (someone) with kids gloves and I can see manipuler avec des gants de soie, prendre des gants (Wiktionary) and prendre des gants avec quelqu'...
1
vote
1answer
91 views
“Si on n'était que douceur avec elle”: meaning and construction?
The other day I was at the hospital and I witnessed a conversation between two doctors about some intern:
Tu es sans pitié, dis-moi... En même temps, elle n’aurait pas autant
envie de nous ...
3
votes
1answer
52 views
“Il n'en reste pas moins que”?
I saw this sentence on wikipedia:
Il n'en reste pas moins que New York est la ville la plus peuplée du pays depuis 1790, avec 8 622 698 habitants selon le Bureau du recensement des États-Unis.
I ...
8
votes
3answers
160 views
Why the feminine “la” in “se la jouer stratégique”?
Si on veut se la jouer stratégique pour ne pas courir aux quatre coins de Paris, il faut optimiser son temps et faire tous les cadeaux au même endroit.
Although I don't see any feminine noun before ...
1
vote
3answers
96 views
“Non mais tu vois l'humour que je donne?” Has anybody heard this ( except in Orne, Basse Normandie)?
I've already heard in Orne (Basse Normandie) a guy saying, at the end of some sentences "tu vois l'humour que je donne?" in a way similar to "tu vois" , "you know what I mean".
I suspect that this ...
2
votes
3answers
94 views
The “en” in “je n’en suis pas là”
I’d like to understand the meaning of “en” in the title phrase. I know the phrase means “I’m not there yet,” so my theory is, since “there” isn’t referring to a specific place, and is more idiomatic, “...
6
votes
2answers
135 views
Sens de « qu'est-ce que » dans deux contextes particuliers
I contexte de l'usage avec certains verbes intransitifs ou pronominaux
Qu'est-ce que tu restes là à bayer aux corneilles ?
Qu'est-ce que tu te mêles de cette affaire quand tu n'y a aucun intérêt ?
...
6
votes
2answers
250 views
How do you say “I see what you did there”?
How do you express "I see what you did there", which is used "to point out that another person's joke [or witty remark] has been understood, either to praise its cleverness or to clearly communicate a ...
2
votes
1answer
50 views
« (Compare, mix) apples and oranges » : les fruits ou le textile etc. ?
Laquelle des expressions « mélanger des choux et des carottes » (aussi comparer) et « mélanger les torchons et les serviettes » se rapproche le plus de (compare, mix) apples and oranges pour la ...
7
votes
2answers
133 views
Couper la pomme en deux
« Couper la poire en deux » est une expression française qui signifie faire un compromis que l'on veut équitable. Elle est apparue au 19e siècle et son origine est incertaine.
J'ai été surpris de ...
2
votes
1answer
168 views
What is the filler phrase some French keep saying that is pronounced like German word “lecker”?
I suppose the meaning must be something like 'easy' or 'okay' or 'I see' or but there are tons of possibilities.
The sound of it is pretty much like the German word "lecker".
1
vote
3answers
130 views
“ blow someone out of water”
Source: https://writingexplained.org/idiom-dictionary/blow-someone-out-of-the-water
The English phrase to blow someone out of the water has literal
origins, but it is more commonly used in a ...
6
votes
4answers
419 views
Traduction de « Life is a roller coaster »
Quelle est la tournure équivalente à life is a roller coaster ?
life is a roller coaster: It means that in life, there are highs and lows. Sometimes it can be scary, sometimes it can be fun. The ...
1
vote
1answer
53 views
What is the meaning of “faire une touche”?
The following text is from an essay by philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy:
"[...] une touche au sens d'une touche de couleur, au sens de la touche d'un pianiste, et pourquoi pas au sens ou on disait dans le ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
Un équivalent au proverbe « the chickens will come (home) to roost » ?
Dans une déclaration de l'American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on trouve la phrase suivante :
[...] The chickens will come to roost when the next president uses
these powers to call a national ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
'Avoir les boules': submissive or aggressive
I just learned the other day (from Expressio) about the phrase:
avoir les boules.
They gave its meaning as "Être très énervé. En avoir assez. Avoir peur.". As in,
Le cartel a les boules car ils ...
3
votes
2answers
96 views
Comment exprimer ou traduire la technique de « catch and kill » ?
Dans un texte on peut lire que :
AMI, the owner of the National Enquirer, led by David Pecker, recently
entered into an immunity deal with the Department of Justice related
to their role in the ...
2
votes
2answers
92 views
Idiomatic translation of la justice à la peine
I'm looking for an idiomatic English translation of the cover of today's l'Humanité -- "la justice à la peine"
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/04/lhumanite-france-socialist-communist-...
1
vote
2answers
126 views
Mais si tu ne vas pas à Lagardère, Lagardère ira à toi
Mais si tu ne vas pas à Lagardère, Lagardère ira à toi.
Peut-on utiliser de nos jours la phrase ci-dessus, voulant dire :
Si sa volonté ne prévaut pas, il faut se soumettre à une alternative.
...
1
vote
1answer
56 views
La brioche, la croûte de pâté et la piquette : gradation de connotations, comparaisons ?
Avant la fin temporaire de la paralysie partielle de l'état fédéral américain (« shutdown »), un parvenu de fils à papa (M. Wilbur Ross) a tenu certains propos qui lui ont valu une réponse, entre ...
2
votes
4answers
81 views
How to express “make a radio” in French?
In this sentence, faire une radio means take an x-ray in English.
Il va faire une radio.
He is going to take an X-ray.
Now I wonder then how to express the literal make a radio in French? ...
2
votes
2answers
762 views
“la pomme ne tombe pas loin de l'arbre” pour “the apple doesn't fall far from the tree”
L'expression
la pomme ne tombe pas loin de l'arbre
signifiant tel père, tels fils et the apple doesn't fall far from the tree
est-elle courante des nos jours ?
2
votes
1answer
48 views
“Better than nothing”
If you say that something is better than nothing, you mean that it is
not what is required, but that it is better to have that thing than to
have nothing at all.
E.g. After all, 15 minutes of ...
1
vote
3answers
87 views
How to say “A person not to mess with" in French?
What is the French equivalent of the expression "A person not to mess with" in the sense provided below
https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-teach-people-not-to-mess-with-you
I consider redoutable, ...
6
votes
5answers
206 views
How to say “go through the motions” in French?
What is the French equivalent of the expression "go through the motions" in the sense provided below?
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/go-through-the-motions
go through the ...
1
vote
1answer
75 views
D'où vient l'expression “belle lurette” ?
J'ai lu l'autre jour "maison fondée il y a belle lurette" sur un panneau publicitaire et je me demande d'où vient cette expression. Est-ce que "lurette" est employé ailleurs dans la langue ?
4
votes
4answers
105 views
Comment traduire « has not risen to the mantle of the office » : « n'a pas endossé le costume de sa fonction » ?
[...] But, on balance, his conduct over the past two years,
particularly his actions last month, is evidence that the president
has not risen to the mantle of the office.
[ « Mitt Romney: The ...
3
votes
2answers
124 views
Where does the idiom « Elle est à cheval sur les détails » come from?
I got this phrase from a Duolingo lesson question, which suggests this translates to "She is a stickler for the details".
A comment on the discussion for the question states that:
It's an idiom. ...
4
votes
4answers
175 views
What does “ll est en train de se payer ma tête, en plus?” mean?
I’ve been stuck on this phrase for a while. I don’t know why it’s giving me so much trouble, but I know that “ll est en train de se” means something someone is currently doing, however, I don’t really ...
3
votes
1answer
198 views
Un pied dans la porte
Une question récente sur ce site faisait état d’un certain tour de langue nouveau et dans une certaine mesure controvesé qui aurait eu « un pied dans la porte ». Interprétant le tout à la ...
0
votes
2answers
61 views
Is “still” implied in the expressions 'il reste … à faire' and 'avoir… à faire?'
When asking "qu'est-ce qu'il te reste à faire" or "est-ce qu'il te reste à preparer le gateau?" (Do you (still) have to prepare the cake), is the concept of 'still' implied. For example, there is a ...
1
vote
3answers
166 views
Expressions similar to “I would give my right arm”
How can one idiomatically say in French something similar to
I would give my right arm to...
Does an one to one literal translation make sense?
In a similar vein, in the film Edward Scissorhands ...
1
vote
1answer
69 views
Que signifie “les mets” dans cette phrase?
En répondant sur une question chez https://cooking.stackexchange.com, j'ai traduit cette définition:
Connaissance de tout ce qui se rapporte à la cuisine, à l'ordonnancement des repas, à l'art de ...
