Chapitre 2 Flashcards
to have half a mind to
avoir presque envie de, penser à (sans probablement le faire) = to have a good mind
*
I have half a mind to tell her what I really think of her.
I have a good mind to go without him if he’s going to be such an idiot!
to wade
avancer dans un liquide ou une autre matière qui offre de la résistance (boue, marais)
au figuré : progresser avec difficulté
*
Rescuers had to wade across a river to reach them.
They had to wade through a swamp.
To wade through a dull book.
heath (paysage ou plante)
lande (sans arbre, sol pauvre, arbustes : genêts, bruyères, ajoncs, fougères)
bruyère (heath ≈ heather)
(coal) scuttle
seau à charbon
scuttle est aussi un type de panier peu profond pour le grain ou les produits du jardin
cinders
cendres
*
Get rid of the cinders before you build a new fire.
bleak
froid, austère, morne (pièce, climat) sans espoir (situation, futur) ≈ dismal "to paint a bleak picture" = décrire une situation avec peu d'espoir * A bleak midwinter's day. He looked round the bleak little room in despair. A bleak and barren moor. Things look very bleak for the team.
to straggle
traîner (en arrière d’un groupe, en dehors d’un chemin)
être dispersé (chose, cheveux, maison), peu dense et en désordre
*
Keep up with the rest of us and don’t straggle.
Her grey hair straggled in wisps about her face.
They were beyond the last straggling suburbs now.
The houses straggled down the hillside.
to tingle (with)
fourmiller, picoter (avec le froid, le chaud)
frissonner avec une émotion (excitation, peur)
*
My fingers and toes are tingling with the cold.
She tingled with fear as she entered the dark alleyway.
I felt a sudden tingle of excitement.
wretched
misérable (habitat, vêtements, personne), malheureux
lamentable (performance, comportement)
maudit (pour qq chose que l’on aime pas)
*
These wretched people had seen their homes going up in flames.
Of course this wretched woman was unforgivably irresponsible.
Poor Cinderella had a wretched childhood, living in wretched conditions with a wretched stepmother.
inmate
(peu commun en ce sens ou daté)
occupant d’une maison, résident
churlish
grossier, revêche (personne, comportement)
a churl (plutôt rare) = une personne …
*
They invited me to dinner and I thought it would be churlish to refuse
**
A l’origine “churl” veut dire paysan, de classe sociale inférieure.
latch
to latch
loquet (d’une porte), verrou
to latch = fermer à clé, fermer le verrou
*
You left the latch off the gate and the dog escaped.
Latch the front and back doors before you leave for school!
to halloo
crier pour attirer l’attention, héler qu’un, appeler à grands cris
crier pour encourager les chiens à la chasse
*
He gave a great halloo but no one heard him.
washhouse
lavoir, buanderie
cote
petit abri, principalement pour les oiseaux (et principalement pour les pigeons et colombes).
dovecote = colombier
at length
(lit) enfin OU longuement * At length my father went into the house. They spoke at length, reviewing the entire incident.
peat
tourbe
to bid sb + verb
nb : sans “to”
(lit)
enjoindre, proposer, inviter qu’un à faire qq chose
dire, faire ses adieux, souhaiter la bienvenue, donner sa benediction
*
He bade them enter.
They all smiled at him and bade him eat.
James bade a tearful farewell to his parents.
to bid good night.
at any rate
en tout cas (utilisé pour préciser ou nuancer qq chose que l’on vient de dire)
*
He is the least appealing character, to me at any rate.
For the moment, at any rate, he was safe
gruff (adj)
bourru, brusque (manière, voix, personne)
*
His gruff exterior concealed one of the kindest hearts.
token
témoignage de, gage (sentiment, fait, qualité)
token woman, black, gay = personne d’une minorité intégrée ds un groupe faire croire qu’il est inclusif (tokenism)
*
A love token.
As a token of goodwill, I’m going to write another letter.
As a token of our gratitude, we would like you to accept this small gift.
A white flag is a token of surrender.
to part with
se séparer (de qq chose que l’on apprécie)
*
He parted with much of his collection to pay his gardening bills.
I just couldn’t part with my old car, even though it uses too much gas.
slender
mince, svelte, élancé (personne, partie du corps, chose)
étroit, mince (chose immatérielle)
*
Peter is tall and slender.
She’s got a beautiful slender figure. (figure = ligne, silhouette)
A student living on slender means.
A slender hope still flickered within him.
These claims are based on slender evidence.
flaxen (hair)
(cheveux) blond pâle
flax = plante qui permet la confection du lin
*
Her long flaxen hair.
to evince sth
faire preuve de, montrer, manifester
*
She evinced an interest in art at an early age.
They have never evinced any readiness or ability to negotiate
The teenager caught shoplifting seemed to evince no remorse.
Your smile might evince your happiness.
a miser
un avare
*
The most famous fictional miser is probably Scrooge in Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.
frock
(old-fashioned) robe
corrugated
ondulé (carton, métal)
*
The roof is made from sheets of corrugated iron.
shabby
râpé, élimé, miteux (vêtements, maison, quartier)
to be shabby = porter des vêtements miteux
*
His clothes were old and shabby.
He walked past her into a tiny, shabby room.
for all the world
exactement, dans tous ses aspects (emphase)
*
She behaved for all the world as if she owned the place
She sounds for all the world like her mother on the phone.
devoid (of)
dénué de, dépourvu de
*
I have never looked on a face that was so devoid of feeling.
The skies are virtually devoid of birdlife.
Their apartment is devoid of all comforts.
whiskers
barbe sur les côtés (≈ favoris ? )
to encroach (on / upon)
(formal)
empiéter, envahir (sur des droits, l’intimité, un territoire, etc)
*
The rhododendrons encroached ever more on the twisting drive.
I knew that unless work encroached upon my family time, no work could get done.
Someone whose questions get more and more personal encroaches on your privacy.
bearing
(literary)
maintient, port (souvent pour son aspect positif)
noble bearing
(- souvent) conduite, comportement, manières
*
Models often have a stately bearing.
She had a proud, distinguished bearing.
haughty
hautain, arrogant * She spoke in a haughty tone. Haughty aristocrats The haughty young beauty never deigned to notice us.
weather-bound
retardé à cause du mauvais temps
to wonder
(formal) s'étonner * I don't wonder (that) she burst into tears after the way you spoke to her. We all wonder that you're still alive. ** aussi wonder = se demander (usuel)
to ramble
faire une randonnée, se balader (marcher pour le plaisir)
a ramble = une balade
*
I spent most of my spare time rambling and climbing.
to utter
(lit)
dire, prononcer, émettre (un son)
*
She sat through the whole meeting without uttering a word.
He uttered strange sounds that nobody could understand.
He uttered a snorting laugh.
to start
sursauter (de surprise, de peur) = to startle * "Oh my!" she said, starting. The sudden noise made her start.
to draw
(qu'un, un véhicule) to draw (somewhere) ≈ se déplacer (doucement et régulièrement) = s'approcher de, se diriger vers to draw away = s'éloigner
(qq chose)
to draw (something)
tirer / trainer (doucement et régulièrement)
*
The train slowly drew into the station.
As she drew closer, I realised that I knew her.
You draw the curtains shut.
He drew his chair nearer the fire.
The horse draws a carriage through Central Park.
grim
sévère, sinister, lugubre
*
The future looks grim.
Her face was grim as she told them the bad news.
They painted a grim picture of growing crime.
The city might be grim at first, but there is a vibrancy and excitement.
