French idioms

Question 1

tit-for-tat

Answer 1

à bon chat, bon rat

to a good cat, a good rat

Question 2

each day as it comes

Answer 2

à chaque jour suffit sa peine

each day’s pain is sufficient for it (reference to the Biblical verse Matthew 6:34)

Question 3

don’t criticize gifts, accept them gratefully

Answer 3

à cheval donné on ne regarde pas les dents

one does not look at the teeth of a horse that has been given.

Question 4

very affectionate

Answer 4

amoureuse comme une chatte¹

in love like a female cat

Question 5

stupidity; stupid remarks

Answer 5

ânerie¹

action proper to a donkey

Question 6

to tell it like it is; to call a spade a spade

Answer 6

appeler un chat un chat¹

to call a cat a cat

Question 7

to turn up when least desired or expected

Answer 7

arriver comme un chien dans un jeu de quille¹

to arrive like a dog at a bowling game

Question 8

to turn up at the absolute worst possible time, to have bad timing

Answer 8

arriver comme un éléphant dans un jeu de quille¹

to arrive like an elephant in a bowling game

Question 9

to be an easy scapegoat

Answer 9

avoir bon dos

to have [a] good back

Question 10

to have other/better things to do, to have bigger fish to fry

Answer 10

avoir d’autres chats à fouetter¹

to have other cats to whip

Question 11

to be attractive

Answer 11

avoir de la gueule¹

to have [a] mouth; to be mouth-watering

Question 12

to be well read

Answer 12

avoir des lettres

to have letters

Question 13

to be a very attractive woman

Answer 13

avoir du chien¹

to have “dogginess”

Question 14

to look puzzled or baffled

Answer 14

avoir l’air d’une poule qui a trouvé un couteau

to look like a hen that has found a knife

Question 15

to be tired, phased out (e.g. after waking up)

Answer 15

avoir la tête dans le cul

to have one’s head up one’s arse

Question 16

to have the blues, to be down in the dumps

Answer 16

avoir le cafard

to have the cockroach

Question 17

to be generous, to give the shirt off one’s back

Answer 17

avoir le cœur sur la main

to have one’s heart in one’s hand

Question 18

to be lucky

Answer 18

avoir le cul bordé de nouilles

to have an arse full of noodles

Question 19

to be sure of oneself

Answer 19

avoir le melon

to have the melon

Question 20

to be scared, to have the jitters or the willies

Answer 20

avoir les jetons

to hold the chips

Question 21

to have a tiger in one’s tank, to have incredible energy

Answer 21

avoir mangé du lion

to have eaten lion

Question 22

to menstruate

Answer 22

avoir ses ours¹

to have her bears

Question 23

to have a frog in your throat

Answer 23

avoir un chat dans la gorge

to have a cat in one’s throat

Question 24

to have a lisp

Answer 24

avoir un cheveu sur la langue

to have a hair on one’s tongue

Question 25

to have nerves of steel

Answer 25

avoir un coeur bien accroché to have one's heart firmly attached

Question 26

to shy away from work, to avoid work at all costs

Answer 26

avoir un poil dans la main to have a hair on one's hand (i.e., palm)

Question 27

to be friendly-looking

Answer 27

avoir une bonne gueule¹ to have a good mouth

Question 28

to be famished

Answer 28

avoir une faim de loup¹ to have a wolf's hunger

Question 29

to have a poor memory

Answer 29

avoir une mémoire de lièvre¹ to have a hare's memory

Question 30

to have a good memory

Answer 30

avoir une mémoire d'éléphant¹ to have an elephant's memory

Question 31

to have a sleepless night

Answer 31

avoir une nuit blanche to have a white night

Question 32

to be nasty-looking

Answer 32

avoir une sale gueule¹ to have a filthy muzzle

Question 33

to drink like a fish

Answer 33

boire comme un trou to drink like a hole

Question 34

to be completely useless

Answer 34

Ne rien savoir faire de ses dix doigts. Not knowing how to do anything with one's ten fingers

Question 35

To arrive at the most awkward moment possible

Answer 35

Arriver comme un cheveu sur la soupe to arrive like the hair in a soup

Question 36

To give your grain of salt

Answer 36

Mettre son grain de sel. to give your grain of salt

Question 37

Head over heels (in love)

Answer 37

Coup de foudre Strike of lightening

Question 38

Just saying

Answer 38

Je dis ça, je dis rien. I say that, I say nothing

Question 39

To stand someone up

Answer 39

Poser un lapin à quelqu’un To put a rabbit on someone

Question 40

To insert a non-sequitur

Answer 40

Sauter du coq à l’âne To jump from the rooster to the donkey

Question 41

To be completely out of it

Answer 41

Être à l’ouest To be in the west

Question 42

To get angry

Answer 42

La moutarde me/lui monte au nez the mustard is getting to my nose

Question 43

to make an embarrassing faux-pas

Answer 43

mettre les pieds dans les plats

Question 44

To get straight to the point

Answer 44

Aller droit au but To go straight to the goal

Question 45

It's good to think things over or to not rush into something

Answer 45

La nuit porte conseil

Question 46

To have a lot to do

Answer 46

Il y a du pain sur la planche There's bread on the cutting board

Question 47

Money doesn't grow on trees

Answer 47

L'argent ne tombe pas du ciel Money doesn't fall from the sky

Question 48

Take the bull by the horns

Answer 48

Prendre le taureau par les cornes

Question 49

To make something more difficult than it actually is

Answer 49

Chercher midi à quatoze heures

Question 50

speak with a shaky voice

Answer 50

bêler une chèvre¹ to bleat like a goat

Question 51

dumb enough to eat hay

Answer 51

bête à manger du foin¹ [so] dumb [as] to eat hay

Question 52

so stupid you could cry

Answer 52

bête à pleurer¹ [so] dumb [as] to cry

Question 53

so stupid that…

Answer 53

bête à…¹

Question 54

very stupid

Answer 54

bête comme ses pieds¹ dumb as one's feet

Question 55

very stupid

Answer 55

bête comme un âne¹ dumb as a donkey

Question 56

stupid as...

Answer 56

bête comme…¹

Question 57

strange animal

Answer 57

bête curieuse¹ curious beast

Question 58

nemesis, pet peeve

Answer 58

bête noire¹ black beast

Question 59

year in, year out

Answer 59

bon an, mal an good year, bad year

Question 60

good-natured person

Answer 60

bonne bête¹ good beast

Question 61

scapegoat

Answer 61

bouc émissaire¹ emissary goat

Question 62

billy goat

Answer 62

bouc¹

Question 63

good guy

Answer 63

brave bête¹ brave beast

Question 64

it's even, it's all the same

Answer 64

c'est kif-kif et bourricot kif-kif is from Arabic and bourricot means donkey

Question 65

that rings a bell

Answer 65

ça me dit quelque chose that tells me something

Question 66

that drives me crazy / that annoys me

Answer 66

ça me prend la tête that takes my head

Question 67

that pisses me off

Answer 67

ça me soûle that makes me drunk

Question 68

it doesn’t make any sense

Answer 68

ça ne tient pas debout it doesn’t stand upright

Question 69

sink or swim

Answer 69

ça passe ou ça casse it passes or it breaks

Question 70

bad attitude, ill temper

Answer 70

caractère de chien¹ dog's personality

Question 71

nasty disposition

Answer 71

caractère de cochon¹ pig's personality

Question 72

he/she is not bad

Answer 72

c'est pas le mauvais cheval it's not the wrong (or bad) horse

Question 73

it is none of your business

Answer 73

ce ne sont pas vos oignons those are not your onions

Question 74

it is not a tragedy, it is not the end of the world

Answer 74

ce n'est pas la mort du petit cheval¹ it is not the death of the little horse

Question 75

it's nothing special, it's nothing to write home about

Answer 75

c'est pas le Pérou it's not Peru

Question 76

it's a big job

Answer 76

c'est un travail de Romain it's a Roman's work

Question 77

heavily loaded

Answer 77

chargé comme un mulet / une mule¹

Question 78

pussy (vulgar)

Answer 78

chatte¹ female cat, pussy

Question 79

to nit-pick

Answer 79

chercher la petite bête to look for the tiny beast (errors)

Question 80

favorite theme, argument, trope

Answer 80

cheval de bataille¹ war horse

Question 81

its bark is worse than its bite

Answer 81

chien qui aboit ne mord pas¹ bite [a] dog that barks does not bite

Question 82

extreme example of something, hell of a.., bitch of a.,,

Answer 82

chienne de... bitch of a

Question 83

local newspaper articles that serve as filler

Answer 83

chiens écrasés¹ [stories about] dogs that have been run over

Question 84

careless in thought or action, like a bull in a china shop

Answer 84

comme un éléphant dans un magasin du porcelaine¹ like an elephant in a porcelain shop

Question 85

at ease, like a duck to water

Answer 85

comme un poisson dans l'eau like a fish in the water

Question 86

to drive horribly

Answer 86

conduire comme un pied to drive like a foot

Question 87

whiplash

Answer 87

coup de lapin¹ hare's blow

Question 88

to split hairs

Answer 88

couper les cheveux en quatre to cut hairs in four

Question 89

to be as scared as a rabbit

Answer 89

courir comme un lapin to run like a rabbit

Question 90

sarcasm has overtaken a conversation

Answer 90

couteaux volent bas knives are flying low

Question 91

to cost dearly, to cost an arm and a leg

Answer 91

coûter la peau du cul to cost the skin of the arse

Question 92

to be very expensive, to cost an arm and a leg

Answer 92

coûter les yeux de la tête to cost the eyes in one's head

Question 93

to die in an undignified manner, to die like a dog

Answer 93

crever comme un chien¹ to die like a dog