{"id":6716,"date":"2016-10-14T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-14T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.lodgis.com\/en\/?p=6716"},"modified":"2024-07-16T10:00:59","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T10:00:59","slug":"idioms-how-to-hit-the-nail-on-the-head-when-you-come-to-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lodgis.com\/en\/idioms-how-to-hit-the-nail-on-the-head-when-you-come-to-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Idioms: How to “hit the nail on the head” when you come to Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"

You’re probably fully aware of what an idiom is. Idioms, to \u00abcut a long story short\u00bb,<\/strong> are expressions that mean one thing literally and another figuratively. In this article, we’ll look at some of the most commonly used idioms in French and English and how they can be translated, both literally and figuratively….
\n
\n 
\nEvery language has its own set of idioms and nuanced expressions. Understanding and employing such expressions in your mother tongue is one thing, but interpreting them in a foreign language is something completely different.
\n 
\nUnfortunately, both French and English happen to be highly idiomatic languages, which can lead to amusing confusions and misunderstandings.
\n <\/p>\n

French \u2192 English Idioms<\/h2>\n

Faire l’andouille<\/strong> \u2192 lit. to make the sausage (to do something ridiculous)
\nAvoir la gueule de bois<\/strong> \u2192 lit. to have a wooden mouth (to have a hangover)
\nS’occuper de ses oignons <\/strong>\u2192 lit. to take care of one’s onions (to mind your own business)
\nPoser un lapin<\/strong> \u2192 lit. to put down a rabbit (to stand someone up)
\nPisser dans un violon<\/strong> \u2192 lit. to piss in a violin (to waste time on something)
\nDonner sa langue au chat<\/strong> \u2192 lit. to give one’s tongue to the cat (to fail to answer)
\nManger sur le pouce <\/strong>\u2192 lit. to eat on the thumb (to grab a bite to eat)
\nCo\u00fbter les yeux de la tete<\/strong> \u2192 lit. to cost the eyes of your head (to cost an arm and a leg)
\nAvoir le cafard<\/strong> \u2192 lit. to have the cockroach (to feel depressed)
\nCoup de foudre <\/strong>\u2192 lit. flash of lightening (love at first sight)
\nPleuvoir des cordes<\/strong> \u2192 lit. to rain ropes (to rain cats and dogs)
\nDevenir ch\u00e8vre<\/strong> \u2192 lit. to become a goat (to go bananas)
\nEn faire tout un fromage <\/strong>\u2192 lit. to make a whole cheese about it (to fuss about something)
\nLa nuit porte conseil<\/strong> \u2192 lit. the night brings advice (you should sleep on it!)
\nRevenir a ses moutons<\/strong> \u2192 lit. to return to one’s sheep (to get back to the subject at hand)
\n 
\n 
\n\"Faire<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ATTENTION: FAIRE L’ANDOUILLE, C’EST UN FAUX AMI!<\/em>
\n 
\n 
\n <\/p>\n

English\u2192 French Idioms<\/h2>\n

To cut the mustard<\/strong> \u2192 lit. couper la moutarde (\u00eatre a la hauteur)
\nTo steal someone’s thunder<\/strong> \u2192 lit. voler la tonnerre de quelqu’un (voler la vedette)
\nBasket case<\/strong> \u2192 lit. l’affaire du panier (\u00eatre cingle\/tare)
\nTo spill the beans<\/strong> \u2192 lit. renverser les haricots (tout avouer\/vendre la m\u00e8che)
\nTo take something with a pinch of salt<\/strong> \u2192 prendre avec une pinc\u00e9e de sel (ne pas prendre qch au pied de la lettre)
\nBy the skin of one’s teeth<\/strong> \u2192 lit. par la peau des dents (se jouer \u00e0 un cheveux pr\u00e8s)
\nTo have a chip on your shoulder<\/strong> \u2192 lit. avoir un morceau de bois sur l\u2019\u00e9paule (\u00eatre aigri)
\nTo be over the moon<\/strong> \u2192 lit. \u00eatre sur la lune (\u00eatre aux anges)
\nOut of the blue<\/strong> \u2192 lit. du bleu (de nulle part\/a l’improviste)
\nBreak a leg!<\/strong> \u2192 lit. cassez une jambe! (bonne chance!)
\nTo let the cat out of the bag <\/strong>\u2192 lit. laisser sortir le chat du sac (tout avouer\/vendre la m\u00e8che)
\nTo hit the sack<\/strong> \u2192 lit. frapper le sac (to go to bed)
\nTo be barking up the wrong tree<\/strong> \u2192 lit. aboyer sur le mauvais arbre (suivre une fausse piste)
\nBent out of shape<\/strong> \u2192 lit. courb\u00e9 hors de forme (s\u2019\u00e9nerver\/se mettre en col\u00e8re)
\nOff the hook<\/strong> \u2192 lit. hors du crochet (tir\u00e9 d’affaires)
\n 
\nAre you coming to Paris and hoping to improve your idiomatic grasp of “la langue fran\u00e7aise”? Well, now “the ball is in your court”. <\/strong>
\n 
\nWhy not try out a few of these expressions whilst discovering the extraordinary French capital? Then you can “faire d’une pierre deux coups- kill two birds with one stone!”<\/strong>
\n .
\nBut try not to “avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre- bite off more than you can chew”. <\/strong> Remember, there are thousands of quirky, nuanced French idioms out there. We’ve barely “effleur\u00e9 le sujet- scratched the surface!”<\/strong>
\n 
\n<\/i>If you want to know more about idiomatic expressions in French, check out our article on French idiomatic expressions<\/a>!<\/span><\/span>
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You’re probably fully aware of what an idiom is. Idioms, to \u00abcut a long story short\u00bb, are expressions that mean one thing literally and another figuratively. In this article, we’ll look at some of the most commonly used idioms in French and English and how they can be translated, both literally and figuratively….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":7758,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[679,681],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nIdioms: How to "hit the nail on the head" when you come to Paris - Lodgis Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.lodgis.com\/en\/idioms-how-to-hit-the-nail-on-the-head-when-you-come-to-paris\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Idioms: How to "hit the nail on the head" when you come to Paris - Lodgis Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You’re probably fully aware of what an idiom is. 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