Proverb USED On Occasion BY African-Americans
Used to affirm that one should use any and all means necessary to reach a goal. “You” can be replaced with any other subject pronoun. Similar to “à la guerre comme à la guerre” in French.
“I worked overtime for 9 weeks to buy myself this new car.” “Wow. Get it how you live.”
Submitted November 2020 by anonymous
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 !"
Expression USED On Occasion BY Kids
(French fry) • It's used as a synonym of "silly", generally among kids.
"Sos un papa frita." "Juancito es tremendo papa frita."
"You're a French fry." "Juancito is such a French fry."
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
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."
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 !"
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!"
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."
Expression USED On Occasion BY Almost Everyone
(to be bored like a dead rat) • It is used to express extreme boredom.
"Il n'y a rien à faire ici." "Ouais, je m'ennuie comme un rat mort."
"There's nothing to do here." "Yeah, I'm bored to death."
aimable comme une porte de prison
Expression USED Frequently BY Adults/old people
(as friendly as a prison's door) • Used to describe someone being rude or cold.
"Il ne m'a pas adressé un seul sourire du séjour, il est aimable comme une porte de prison."
"He didn't smile at me the whole trip, he is as friendly as a prison's door."
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!"
French
French speaking countries
Expression USED On Occasion BY Some People
(to have the head in the butt) • It means to be feeling hazy, tired or not feeling that well.
"J'ai la tête dans le cul ce matin: j'ai à peine dormi de la nuit."
"I have the head in the butt this morning: I've barely slept this night."
French
French speaking countries
Slang USED Frequently BY Most People
(n.) • Money.
"Tu peux me prêter un peu de pognon stp?"
"Can you lend me some money please?"
French
French speaking countries
Slang USED Frequently BY Some People
(n.) • (sorrel) • Money.
"J'ai grave besoin d'oseille!"
"I really need sorrel!"
