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French | French Canadian Québec, Canada

Saint-Clin-Clin-des-Meuh-Meuh

Expression USED On Occasion BY Everybody

(n.) • It is used to refer to a remote location, most often than not, a far away village, "in the middle of nowhere", because in Québec, a lot of small villages are named "Saint-(something)".

"Mon cousin habite à Saint-Clin-Clin-des-Meuh-Meuh."

"My cousin lives In-the-middle-of-nowhere."

French | Joual Québec, Canada

siffleux

Word USED On Occasion BY Older Generations, Countryside people

(n.) • (whistler) • Used to refer to a groundhog, mostly because of the sounds they make when angry (that sounds like a sharp whistle).

"J'ai fini par attraper le siffleux qui détruisait mon jardin !"

"I finally caught the whistler that was destroying my garden!"

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French Québec, Canada

pantoute

Word USED Very frequently BY Everyone

(adverb) • Not at all, none. Also used to insist on that idea.

"Ça ne me dérange pas pantoute !" "Je ne vois rien pantoute."

"It doesn't bother me at all" "I can't see anything."

French France

Pétaouchnok

Word USED On Occasion BY Some People

(n.) • Used to talk about a far away and/or unknown place.

"Il est parti à Pétaouchnok."

"He went to Pétaouchnok."

Confirmed by 2 people

French French speaking countries

le trou du cul du monde

Expression USED Frequently BY Everyone

(the asshole of the world) • Used to talk about a very remote place. The middle of nowhere.

"La ville la plus proche est à 20 kilomètres, c'est le trou du cul du monde."

"The closest town is 20 kilometres from here. It's the asshole of the world."

Confirmed by 2 people

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French French speaking countries

être beau comme un cœur

Expression USED On Occasion BY Everybody

(to be as beautiful as a heart) • Affectionate way to say that you find someone or something pretty, beautiful, cute as a button.

"Ce costume te va à ravir, tu es beau comme un cœur !" "Ta fille est jolie comme un cœur."

"This suit looks great on you, you are as beautiful as a heart!" "Your daughter is as pretty as a heart."

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French France

passer comme une lettre à la poste

Expression USED On Occasion BY Some

(to fit like a letter in the letterbox) • Used to describe a situation where everything goes smoothly or as planned. To go off without a hitch.

"J'ai été obligé d'expliquer pourquoi je n'étais pas en classe hier." "Et ?" "Mon histoire est passée comme une lettre à la poste"

"I had to explain why I did not attend class yesterday" "And?" "My story fit like a letter in the letterbox"

Confirmed by 2 people

French France

Ça rentre comme papa dans maman.

Expression USED Frequently BY Young and middle-aged people

(It fits like daddy in mommy.) • To fit like a glove.

"- T'as pu rentrer la voiture dans le garage ? - Ouais, elle est rentrée comme papa dans maman."

"- Did the car fit in the garage? - Yeah, it fits like daddy in mommy."

Confirmed by 2 people

French France

avoir une araignée au plafond

Expression USED On Rare Occasion BY Everyone

(to have a spider on the ceiling) • Describes someone who is not the brightest or someone crazy. If a spider has the space to make a net inside your head, it is not a good sign, as the spider lives in a room that is not used a lot.

"N'écoute pas ce mec, il a une araignée au plafond." "Ton pote est un peu bizarre, il doit avoir une araignée au plafond."

"Don't listen to this guy, he has a spider on the ceiling." "Your mate is a bit weird, he must have a spider on the ceiling."

Confirmed by 2 people

French French speaking countries

ne pas avoir la lumière à tous les étages

Expression USED On Occasion BY Almost Everyone

(not have light at every floor) • Used to talk about someone who does not think before acting and does weird things. Someone who is not very smart (i.e. dumb).

"Regarde cet homme qui court nu dans la rue !" "Oh.. Il n'a pas la lumière à tous les étages celui-là !"

"Look at this man, he is running naked in the street!" "Oh.. This one does not have light at every floor!"

Confirmed by 2 people

French French speaking countries

Ce n'est pas le couteau le plus aiguisé du tiroir.

Expression USED On Rare Occasion BY Some People

(It is not the sharpest knife in the drawer.) • It means that you are not really smart but it is said in a funny way.

" - Je n'ai pas réussi à faire cet exercice. - Tu n'es vraiment pas le couteau le plus aiguisé du tiroir..."

"I did not manage to do this exercise. - You are definitely not the sharpest knife in the drawer..."

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French French speaking countries

Ce n’est pas une lumière.

Expression USED On Occasion BY Everybody

(He/she is not a light.) • Used to say that a person is not smart. It means the person is not “bright”, like a light.

"Amélie... Ce n’est pas une lumière."

"Amélie... She is not a light."

French France

Bien vu, l'aveugle!

Expression USED On Rare Occasion BY Anyone

(Well seen, the blind!) • This is something you may say to someone who just discovered something obvious. This is obviously a pun, and "bien vu" actually translates to "well spotted", "good catch".

"T'as déjà remarqué que presque tous les salons de coiffures ont un jeu de mot dans leur nom ?" "Bien vu, l'aveugle !"

"Have you ever noticed that almost every hairdressing salon has a pun in its name?" "Well seen, the blind!"

Confirmed by 5 people

French French speaking countries

donner sa langue au chat

Expression USED On Occasion BY Everybody

Used when you have to guess something, but it is so hard that you give up and don't want to guess anymore. It comes from the fact that we used to confess our deepest secrets to cats. So they know a lot about everyone. To give your tongue to the cat is to admit that someone (i.e. the cat) knows something that you don't know.

" - Devine qui vient à la soirée ce soir ? - Louis ! - Non. - Walid ! - Non. - Ok, je donne ma langue au chat."

" - Guess who's coming at the party tonight? - Louis! - No. - Walid! - No. - Ok, I give my tongue to the cat."

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French France

avoir le QI d'une huître

Expression USED Frequently BY Almost Everyone

(to have the IQ of an oyster ) • Used to say that someone is really stupid, that someone has no brain.

"Elle est vraiment débile, elle a le QI d'une huître !"

"She's so dumb, she has the IQ of an oyster !"

Confirmed by 7 people

French French speaking countries

Tu peux perdre une carte, mais pas quinze.

Reference USED On Occasion BY Some People

(You can lose one card, but not fifteen.) • This sentence comes from the film "Les Tuches 2", and it is the moment where the main character cannot find his 15 credits cards. He starts saying "You can lose 1 card, but not 15", then "You can lose 2 cards, but not 15", and so on, until he reaches "You can lose 15 cards, but not 15. Oh, you can actually." Some people reuse this sentence by changing "lose" and "card" by other words, like "fail" and "exam" for example. It is a way of making fun of a situation that isn't that enjoyable.

"Tu peux accrocher une voiture, mais pas quinze ! A la rigueur deux, mais pas quinze ! ... Tu peux accrocher quinze voitures, mais pas quinze ! Oh ben si en fait."

"You can hit a car, but not fifteen! Well, maybe two, but not fifteen! ... You can hit fifteen cars, but not fifteen! Oh, you can actually."

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French Belgium

baraki

Word USED Frequently BY Most People

(n.) • It describes uncivilized people who often wear tracksuits and a golden chain. They have an old car and often spend their days at bars. They are known to admire the USA, so they usually name their children Kévin, Dylan, Kimberley, Cindy, etc. They are also known to be stupid and sometimes vulgar. Those stereotypical people are known to live in low-income neighbourhoods.

"Il y a souvent des barakis à la buvette du club de foot de mon frère."

"There are often barakis at the refreshment bar at my brother's football club."

French French speaking countries

flipper

Slang USED Very frequently BY Mainly young people

(v.) • To be scared.

"J'ai un entretien d'embauche demain, je flippe tellement !"

"I have a job interview tomorrow, I'm so scared !"

Confirmed by 5 people

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French Belgium

dracher

Word USED Frequently BY Most People

(v.) • To rain heavily.

"On était à peine sortis de la voiture quand il a commencé à dracher !"

"We just got out of the car when it started raining heavily!"

Confirmed by 4 people

French France

être dans la sauce

Slang USED On Occasion BY Mostly used by young people

(to be in the sauce) • You can use this expression to say that you are in trouble.

"Il n’aurait pas dû dire ça, il va être dans la sauce."

"He should not have said that, he is gonna be in the sauce."

Confirmed by 2 people