Language/French/Culture/Funny-idiomatic-expressions

Funny French Idioms

Voici quelques expressions idiomatiques utiles en français.

Here are some useful idioms in French.

Faire quelque chose à l’oeil

le faire gratuitement

Doing it for free

Faire quelque chose aux frais de la princesse

le faire gratuitement

Doing it for free

avoir un nom à coucher dehors

avoir un nom difficile à écrire ou à prononcer

have a name that is difficult to write or pronounce

être à la bourre

être très en retard

Be very late

se tirer la bourre

se battre pour gagner

Fight to win

Aboyer au mauvais arbre

• Litteraly: Barking up the wrong tree
• Meaning: Looking in the wrong place, accusing the wrong person

se réfère au chien de chasse qui aboie au pied d'un arbre sans proie.

refers to the hunting dog that barks at the foot of a tree without prey.

Avoir le cœur sur la main

• Litteraly: To have the heart on the hand 
• Meaning: Une personne qui a le cœur sur la main est une personne très généreuse.

The truly generous persons are those who give silently without hope of praise or reward. 

C'est un secret de polichinelle

• Meaning: it's an open secret
• Example: Il élude toujours les questions pièges sur ses préférences politiques, mais c'est un secret de polichinelle. Source: Le Monde (2001)

He always dodges trick questions about his political preferences, but it's an open secret.

Il a gagné la course "les doigts dans le nez"

• Litteraly: He won the race with his fingers in the nose
• Meaning: He won the race very easily

C'est l'hôpital qui se fout de la charité

• Meaning: Someone who doesn't give a damn about an individual's fault, which he himself has.
• Origin: Here, the word "hospital" refers to a medical establishment since the 17th century. This establishment was managed by a principal, who called himself "charity". The hospital, having nothing to envy of charity, therefore has no valid reason to mock it. This is where the fun side of the phrase lies, a certain irony. This therefore qualifies a person who makes fun of someone who has the same fault as her.

Dur à avaler

• Litteraly: Hard to swallow, hard to believe
• Meaning: difficile à croire, difficile à admettre

Faire l'autruche / pratiquer la politique de l'autruche

We use this expression to talk about someone who refuses to face reality and prefers to bury his head in the ground "like an ostrich".

écraser une mouche avec un marteau-pilon

• Litteraly: crush a fly with a hammer
• Meaning: Take disproportionate measures to resolve a problem.

Mettre la main à la pâte

• Litteraly: Have a finger in the pie
• Meaning: Have an interest in or meddle in something.

The truly generous persons are those who give silently without hope of praise or reward. 

Il n'a pas inventé le fil à couper le beurre

• Litteraly: He didn’t invent the wire to cut the butter
• Meaning: Someone not very smart who react slowly

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