Questions tagged [expressions-idiomatiques]
Phrases ou expressions dont les mots portent une signification différente du sens littéral.
392
questions
2
votes
1answer
117 views
Meaning of “valoir” in “Mieux vaut tard que jamais”
The phrase "Mieux vaut tard que jamais" is translated as "Better late than never". But what is the sense of the word "vaut" in the French phrase?
1
vote
1answer
59 views
Being on hold (on the phone)
(I've been trying off and on for decades to find the answer to this puzzle.)
This question provides some useful guidance for talking about asking someone on the phone to chill for a bit. But I'm ...
2
votes
1answer
95 views
Swing la bacaisse dans l'fond d'la boîte à bois
Je voudrais savoir si il existe d'autres interprétations de l'expression «Swing la bacaisse dans l'fond d'la boîte à bois» que celle communément acceptée.
Après avoir lu la question Origine du mot “...
1
vote
2answers
77 views
Usage de “La madeleine de Proust”
L'expression
La madeleine de Proust
http://www.expressio.fr/expressions/une-madeleine-de-proust.php
c'est une expression qui parle de quelque chose qui déclenche le mémoire. (un déjà-vu).
Peut-...
3
votes
1answer
58 views
Translation of “It is found to be”
The echelon form of the matrix is found to be given by...
La forme échelonnée de la matrice se trouve être donnée par...
I have a feeling that the French turn would sound a bit weird to native ...
4
votes
2answers
266 views
Usage of “tour de force”
In English one can use a tour de force speaking about a display of a skill, or ingenuity. For instance,
In 1943 in a tour de force of mathematical physics, Lars Onsager solved the 2D Ising Model.
(...
4
votes
4answers
952 views
Conveying the idea of « go figure »
En grec nous avons une expression « τρέχα (https://www.wordreference.com/gren/%CF%84%CF%81%CE%AD%CF%87%CE%B1) γύρευε (see, look for, search for, figure out) » (trecha gyreve) ; on le dit de quelque ...
2
votes
3answers
745 views
Idiom for “Ahead of its time”
Is En avance sur son temps idiomatic in French as Ahead of its time in English? For instance,
Five Movies with Special Effects Ahead of Their Time.
Cinq films avec effets spéciaux en avance ...
5
votes
4answers
223 views
Peut-on être fier et humble à la fois ?
J'ai, à plusieurs reprises, entendu des personnes dire, suite à, entre autres, une nomination, une remise de prix ou une décoration, qu'ils en « sont fiers » et qu'ils l'acceptent « avec humilité » (...
3
votes
1answer
83 views
Emploi du verbe “procrastiner” pour rendre l'idée de “remettre aux calendes grecques”
L'expression "remettre aux calendes grecques" est-elle répandue/reconnue ?
Peut-on couramment rendre son sens avec le verbe "procrastiner" ?
3
votes
3answers
190 views
Traduction de l'anglais « man's man »
I
On trouve une définition de « man's man » dans le dictionnaire anglais-français « Harrap's »; c'est « un vrai homme, un homme que les autres hommes admirent ». Cependant, dans cette source, ...
2
votes
2answers
234 views
Conveying the idea of “stay tuned”
In one course I wanted to say to my students:
More advanced things to come; stay tuned!
I wasn't sure if the translation " restez à l'écoute" can be used idiomatically in this context.
Des ...
8
votes
9answers
2k views
Conveying the idea of “tricky”
The other day I wanted to say to my students
That was easy, here's a trickier one.
I said
Ça c'était facile, en voici un plus délicat.
But I think délicat is of higher register than tricky. ...
3
votes
2answers
102 views
Origine et signification d'expression “Faire monde”
J'ai rencontré l'expression "faire monde" : https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/faire-monde.1430525/
Quelle est l'origine de cette expression ? Quel phénomène grammatical permet la juxtaposition ...
4
votes
2answers
271 views
Conveying the idea of “It's piece of cake” by “simple comme bonjour” or “bête comme chou”
L'autre jour j'ai voulu dire
"I cannot understand the grades. The exam paper was a piece of cake."
J'ai dit :
Les notes sont inexplicables. Les sujets étaient simples comme bonjour."
Je ne ...
8
votes
4answers
253 views
Using “meilleure chose depuis le pain en tranches” to convey “best thing since sliced bread”
Googling about the British idiom "Best thing since sliced bread" I encounter the French expression "meilleure chose depuis le pain en tranches". Is it a proper French idiomatic expression? For ...
4
votes
2answers
482 views
Conveying the idea of “Elvis has left the building” (i.e. Sth has come to an end – it’s over)
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_has_left_the_building
Le sens que prend l'expression quand elle est réutilisée hors contexte
est : « C'est fini, il n'y a plus rien à attendre, à espérer ». ...
7
votes
4answers
1k views
What are the different ways one can refer to the home in everyday French
For instance how do I say “when will you be home?” to my wife in an informal way and referring to our home?
Is there a French word for home as distinct from house and apartment, as there is in ...
1
vote
2answers
52 views
Conveying the idea of “the biggest travesty”
L'autre jour j'ai parlé de Sergio Leone et Stanley Kubrick et j'ai voulu dire en français :
SK and SL didn't win an Oscar in Best Film/Best Director categories.
This is the biggest travesty.
or ...
4
votes
3answers
233 views
Conveying the idea of “down the road” (i.e. in the future)
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/down+the+road
Lots of things will have changed a few years down the road.
Down the road is used metaphorically instead of in the future.
One could say
...
1
vote
0answers
133 views
« (Faire de) l'esprit en bouteille », est-ce réellement une expression du français ?
Je me souviens maintenant d'une expression que l'une de mes connaissances utilisait en parlant de l'humour douteux de certaines personnes dont elle disait qu'elles faisaient de l'esprit en bouteille (...
3
votes
3answers
118 views
Emploi de “frappe, mais écoute” ('strike, if you will; but hear') (grec: pataxon men, akouson de)
En grec ancien, on dit
πάταξον μέν, ἄκουσον δέ (pataxon men, akouson de) = strike, if you will; but hear = frappe, mais écoute
Voici un peu de contexte historique.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
9
votes
3answers
199 views
Que veut dire « crisse de voyage » ?
Dans une conversation entre Québécois j'ai entendu cette phrase en réponse à quelqu'un qui demandait au locuteur des nouvelles de sa sœur :
Ah, l'histoire de ma sœur, j'ai eu mon crisse de voyage....
2
votes
3answers
94 views
Conveying the idea of “alive and kicking”
What are some colloquial ways to express in French "alive and kicking" (meaning alive and healthy) as in
A: "How are you doing after your surgery?" B: "I'm alive and kicking!"
She ran a ...
2
votes
1answer
68 views
Conveying the idea of “can’t hold a candle to”
If you say that one person or thing can't hold a candle to another, you meant that the first person or thing is not nearly as good as the second.
E.g. There is not one rock star today who could ...
1
vote
3answers
78 views
Expressing “(one's) off” as in “he is working his ass off”
(slang) (One's) ass off is used to emphasize the preceding verb as having been done to the maximum degree. For instance
I worked my ass off to get where I am today!
The people in the back were ...
4
votes
1answer
345 views
What do the French say for “Oh, you shouldn’t have”?
In English, this basically means that you’re politely declining a gift that you might feel embarrassed to get or that you don’t feel like you deserve. It can also be used humorously to say that you do ...
2
votes
3answers
130 views
En français, est-ce que « de très bons amis » peut impliquer un sous-entendu sexuel ?
En anglais, quand quelqu’un dit « Oh, they’re very good friends! » c’est tout à fait normal mais il y a des situations où on peut le dire pour insinuer qu’il y a une relation sexuelle entre deux ...
4
votes
2answers
215 views
on s'en fout de ton sac
I heard a dialogue in a movie between a teenage daughter and her mom, which rummaged through the daughter's purse and found some condoms:
Daughter: Tu as fouillé dans mon sac?
Mother: On s'en fout de ...
3
votes
1answer
72 views
La locution « à dormir debout » : pourquoi l'extravagant ou l'invraisemblable fait-il dormir de cette manière ?
La locution à dormir debout est attestée en 1611 pour « extravagant » (DHLF/Rey) ; aujourd'hui ça signifierait surtout « invraisemblable ».
Peut-on identifier la ou les premières attestations (Littré ...
2
votes
1answer
133 views
Comment traduire « full of beans » : adjectif simple, syntagme ou locution ?
En anglais on a l'« adjectif idiomatique » full of beans, signifiant entre autres « energetic and enthusiastic » (Wiktionnaire) ou « full of energy and life » (Merriam Learners) :
Jem was among ...
13
votes
2answers
4k views
French equivalent of “my cup of tea”
https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/my-cup-of-tea.html
One expression that I consider a "classic" English one is "my cup of tea".
Does the literal translation in French, i.e. "ma tasse de thé", ...
4
votes
4answers
281 views
Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît POINT
In this famous saying by B. Pascal, Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point, what is the meaning of point?
Is it just a pun in that point sounds like pas or is it supposed to put ...
2
votes
2answers
165 views
What does “adresser un pot de confiture à l'aigreur de la situation” mean?
Nietzsche : "J’adresse un pot de confiture pour me débarrasser d’une histoire qui tourne au vinaigre."
What is meant by the expression adresser un pot de confiture? Especially the word adresser has ...
6
votes
5answers
1k views
What are the French equivalents of “blow away the cobwebs”?
We were having a conversation after a concert, and I said:
C’est bon de sortir de temps à autre pour se divertir un peu, d'autant plus que j'ai passé mes dernières journées à compulser de vieux ...
5
votes
2answers
298 views
“Practice makes perfect” and “c'est en forgeant qu'on devient forgeron”
Trying to translating "practice makes perfect" (i.e. if one practices an activity enough, one will eventually master it; see https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/practice+makes+perfect) I encountered ...
7
votes
4answers
146 views
Un équivalent français du mot romand « bugne »
En Suisse romande, le mot bugne est très courant pour définir un dégât en creux, généralement d'importance mineure et causée par une compression, généralement un choc.
Bugne est donc un antonyme de "...
1
vote
1answer
108 views
Quelle est la signification de l'expression “on additionne pas des choux et des carottes”?
J'ai vu cette expression dans des forums de discussion, qui ne parlaient pas de recettes de cuisine...
2
votes
3answers
346 views
What is the meaning of “Ce n'est que partie remise”?
The meanings of "Remise" I know of are bargain and some kind of store but this does not fit with the situation where I heard this expression. Something like "Perhaps next time" seemed to be meant. Is ...
3
votes
3answers
205 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
984 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
582 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
30 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'...
1
vote
2answers
206 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
121 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 ...
asked Jul 24 '19 at 13:38
Con-gras-tue-les-chiens
19.7k4 gold badges18 silver badges61 bronze badges
0
votes
1answer
132 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
235 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 ...
asked Jul 22 '19 at 13:29
Con-gras-tue-les-chiens
19.7k4 gold badges18 silver badges61 bronze badges
16
votes
10answers
12k 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
...
6
votes
2answers
127 views
selon le vs selon les
Are all sentences below correct? If so, is there a difference in meaning between the two sentences of each pair?
Example 1:
Selon la culture, la politesse peut prendre différentes formes.
Selon les ...
