Daily French idioms

I was good at school, I mean, with English lessons. But as an adult, as I began to… speak with people, apart from plenty of little mistakes I scattered everywhere and of course the usual lack of vocabulary, it was OK. But… not that OK : Idioms. These were hard.

Same when you learn French, I suppose. There are plenty of books about these, and some are really funny. In this article, I found things we say daily. The most common ones…

Pile-poil! : exactly, dead on time!

Et rebelote! : once more, and yet again, another run and all over again.

J’ai la dalle (I have the slab) means you’re starving.

Au pif (at the nose) or à vue de nez (at sight of the nose) : at the guess, around.

C’est n’importe quoi (that’s whatever) : that’s rubbish.

Il me prend la tête (He takes my head) means he drives you crazy. On French Tinder you’ll seek a relationship “sans prise de tête” (without head taking)!

J’en ai marre means I’m fed up. “Marre” means nothing, we just say it. Someone about to explode will simply scream : MARRE !

Je suis crevé (I’m flat) means you’re exhausted, of course.

Faire la grasse matinée (to make the fat morning) is to sleep in. We often cut it : “Ce matin, grasse mat !”.

Jeter un coup d’œil (to throw a stroke of eye) is to take a quick look.

Faire le pont (to make the bridge) is a French sport : it means you take off the day(s) between a day without work and the weekend, for example.

Occupe-toi de tes oignons (take care of your own onions), for mind your own business.

En faire tout un fromage (to make a whole cheese out of it) is to make a fuss (what the hell is a fuss??).

Je suis en train de manger (I am in the action of eating) is our common way to say your “Be + ing” -> I’m eating. We say “je suis en train de” one million times a day.

Je te tiens au courant (I hold you to the current) : I keep you up to date.

Oh la vache ! (Oh the cow!) means you’re impressed : Oh my God!

 

Bah, there’s a Wiki about these : https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:French_idioms

• “Fleas & Cooks” : Some French Idioms explained
• French idioms to say “It was easy!”
• Do you have a cow? – “La rate au court bouillon” & a few other French idioms
• “A little bike in the coffee pot” : idioms about craziness

 

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