French
French speaking countries
prendre la poudre d'escampette
Expression USED On Very Rare Occasion BY Adults
( to take the powder of the escape) • To run away, to flee.
"Hier, ma maison a été cambriolée, et au moment où je cherchais les voleurs, ils avaient déjà pris la poudre d'escampette."
"Yesterday, my house was robbed, and when I looked for the thieves, they had already fled."
French
French speaking countries
Expression USED Frequently BY Everyone
Nothing at all.
"'Y a que dalle dans le frigo, faut qu'on fasse des courses."
"There's nothing at all in the fridge, we must do the grocery shopping."
Submitted March 2021 by 3010g
French
French speaking countries
Expression USED Frequently BY Almost Everyone
Used informally to refer to menstruation.
"J’ai mes ragnagnas."
"I’m on my period."
French
French speaking countries
Expression USED Frequently BY Almost Everyone
(to ride on one's big horses) • Getting angry quickly and reacting violently.
"Tu devrais réfléchir avant de monter sur tes grands chevaux."
"You should think before you get on your big horses."
French
French speaking countries
Expression USED Very frequently BY Young People
(I beat my balls about it.) • Used to say that you don't care at all about something. You don't give a damn.
"Je m’en bats les couilles de ces restrictions corona, je vais faire la fête dans tous les cas !"
"I beat my balls about the corona restrictions , I will party anyways!"
Submitted December 2020 by anonymous
French
French speaking countries
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."
French
French speaking countries
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."
Submitted December 2020 by marinouchka
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!"
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..."
Submitted November 2020 by anonymous
French
French speaking countries
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."
Submitted November 2020 by anonymous
French
French speaking countries
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."
Submitted November 2020 by anonymous
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."
Submitted November 2020 by do
French
French speaking countries
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 !"
French
French speaking countries
Word USED On Occasion BY Young People
(n.) • (hole-filler) • It describes a person used as a replacement of another person in a group.
"Elle a parfois l'impression d'être le bouche-trou de la bande ; elle est invitée à manger ou faire la fête avec eux seulement quand ça les arrangent."
"She sometimes has the feeling of being the group hole-filler; she's invited to eat or party with them only when it suits them."
French
French speaking countries
Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People
(to bleed from the eyes) • Used when you see or hear something very unpleasant.
"Je saigne des yeux à chaque fois que je lis ses messages : il fait tellement de fautes d'orthographes!"
"I bleed from the eyes whenever I read his messages: he does so many spelling mistakes!"
French
French speaking countries
Expression USED Frequently BY People Under 30
(to take oneself a rake) • Used when you tell someone that you like him/her and (s)he doesn't like you back. When you are the one whose feelings are hurt, you "take yourself a rake". When you are the one who hurts the other person's feelings, you "give a rake" (mettre un râteau).
"Je me suis pris un râteau hier... Je lui ai dit que je l'aimais bien et il m'a répondu : "Désolé, t'es pas mon type"."
"I took myself a rake yesterday... I told him that I liked him and he replied: "Sorry, you're not my type"."
French
French speaking countries
Interjection USED On Occasion BY Most People
When you finish telling something that might be awkward, sad or another quite negative feeling, you often end the story with "voilà voilà". The use and tone is different from the enthusiastic "voilà!".
"Hier, je marchais dans la rue tout en buvant mon café, et j'ai glissé sur une peau de banane. Je suis tombé et j'ai renversé mon café très chaud sur moi. Malheureusement, la rue était bondée, donc tout le monde m'a vu tomber. Voilà voilà..."
"Yesterday, I was walking down the street while drinking my coffee, and I slipped on a banana peel. I fell and spilled my very hot coffee on myself. Unfortunately, the street was crowded, so everyone saw me falling. So there you go..."
French
French speaking countries
Expression USED On Rare Occasion BY Adults
(to take you legs to your neck) • To run away as fast as possible.
"A chaque fois que Bip Bip voit Coyote, il prend ses jambes à con cou."
"Whenever the Road Runner sees Wile E. Coyote, he takes his legs to his neck."
French
French speaking countries
avoir été bercé trop près du mur
Expression USED On Very Rare Occasion BY Adults
(to have been rocked too close to the wall) • It's a way to say that a person is stupid. By being rocked near a wall, a baby's head could be bumped and cause damage to the brain.
"Jenny, un des personages de la BD "Les Nombrils", a été bercé trop très du mur. Je n'ai jamais vu quelqu'un d'aussi débile mais tellement drôle!"
"Jenny, one of the "The Bellybuttons" comic characters, was rocked too close to the wall. I've never seen a person that stupid but so funny!"
French
French speaking countries
Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People
(not to be clever-clever) • Used to refer to a dumb person or a person doing stupid things, but it's lighter than saying that a person is stupid. It comes from "fûté", that means "clever".
"Cette fille n'est vraiment pas fût-fût; elle pense que les lions sont des animaux marins!"
"That girl really isn't clever-clever; she thinks that lions are marine animals!"