Sunday, September 25, 2011

French Idioms

A great collection. Examples:

Avoir les jetons
To be scared (literally: "to have the tokens")

Avoir des casseroles au cul
To be haunted by a scandal (literally: "to have saucepans hung on the ass")

Donner sa langue au chat
To give up a riddle (literally: "to give one's tongue to the cat")

Enfoncer des portes ouvertes
To state the obvious (literally: "To break down open doors")

Il n'y a pas de quoi fouetter un chat
It is nothing to make a fuss about (literally: "It's no reason for whipping a cat")

Noyer le poisson
To evade an issue (literally: "to drown the fish")

Poule mouillée
Coward (literally: "wet chicken")

Sucer les pissenlits par la racine
Be dead (literally: "to suck the dandelions by the root")

Tirer des plans sur la comète
To build castles in the air (literally: "to draw plans on the comet")

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