French
| Québécois
Québec,
Canada
Expression USED Very frequently BY Usually younger people
(to fall in one's week) • Used as a euphemism to mean “starting your period”.
“As-tu un tampon? Je viens de tomber dans ma semaine.”
“Do you have a tampon? I just fell in my week.”
Submitted January 2021 by anonymous
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."
Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People
(adj.) • A word originated from German and used by some French speakers, used when someone has reached a level of great fatigue or exhaustion.
"Quelle journée !" "Ouais, je suis complètement schlass."
"What a day!" "Yeah, I'm completely schlass."
Submitted December 2020 by anonymous
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 Canadian
Québec,
Canada
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."
Submitted December 2020 by anonymous
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!"
Submitted December 2020 by anonymous
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."
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
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"
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."
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."
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
Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People
(french fry) • Someone dumb, foolish or of little intelligent.
"Fastidió la fiesta sorpresa, se lo contó todo a la cumpleañera. Menudo papafrita".
"He screwed up the surprise party, he told everything to the birthday girl. What a french fry."
Submitted November 2020 by holayadios
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!"
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
