Since you enjoyed reading our last post about French idioms as much as we enjoyed writing it, we thought we’d give you a few more!
The idiom : Avoir la patate / Avoir la frite
Literal translation: To have the spud / To have the French fry
Picture by Zelda Zonk – http://zeldazonk.ultra-book.com
What it means: When someone “has the spud” or “the French fry”, they are full of energy and they feel in great shape. It can also imply that they are in a great mood.
The idiom: Devenir chèvre
Literal translation: To become goat.
What it means: This French idiom means to go crazy or to go nuts, but in a rather funny and jolly way.
The idiom: Aller se faire cuire un œuf
Literal translation: To go and cook oneself an egg
What it means: If a French person tells you “Va te faire cuire un œuf !“, then they are probably annoyed at you, don’t want to agree to what you have asked from them, and they are actually asking you to leave them alone.
The idiom : Quand les poules auront des dents.
Literal translation: When hens have teeth.
What it means: As hens are very unlikely to ever have teeth, this expression means “never”. The meaning is closer to the English expression “when pigs fly” rather than the otherwise very similar “as common as hen’s teeth”.
The idiom: Faire tout un fromage
Literal translation: To make a whole cheese about something
Picture by Zelda Zonk – http://zeldazonk.ultra-book.com
What it means: This expression is used if someone really makes a fuss about something. An English equivalent would be to “kick up a huge fuss about something” or “to make a mountain out of a molehill”.
We hope you enjoyed this glimpse of the French language and idioms. Let us know if we forgot your favourite expression!