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    Informal French Expressions and their English Equivalents
    Informal French Expressions and their English Equivalents
    Informal French Expressions and their English Equivalents
    Ebook154 pages1 hour

    Informal French Expressions and their English Equivalents

    By Gunnar Sewell

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    About this ebook

    If you want to learn how to speak like the French, this is the perfect companion to language guides that teach formal French. This book is not a study of foul language. Its scope goes beyond what anglophones refer to as slang. It is a collection of colloquialisms and idioms that are used in the underworld and in informal speech. It also includes figures of speech that have been deemed to have a strong figurative or metaphorical value.

    Each expression in this collection is classified by part of speech, or grammatical function, and by register. The expressions that are classified as familier should not be used in a situation that demands politeness, civility, courtesy or deference.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGunnar Sewell
    Release dateJan 17, 2015
    ISBN9781310745959
    Informal French Expressions and their English Equivalents
    Author

    Gunnar Sewell

    Gunnar Sewell has been a French teacher for over 20 years. He is mostly interested in French expressions for which there are no English equivalents. He began to write Informal French Expressions as he read the works of Louis-Ferdiand Céline, Auguste LeBreton and Alphonse Boudard. He is presently completing a book entitled "Le Beau Langage".Gunnar has published articles with the Toronto Star, The Toronto District School Board, Elephant Thoughts, and the United Nations University Press. Mr.Sewell also works as an interpreter and translator. He is passionate about environmental issues, loves to ride his bike and to practice yoga.Find out more about Gunnar's French studies and his tutoring services here: http://learn-french-toronto.com

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      Book preview

      Informal French Expressions and their English Equivalents - Gunnar Sewell

      Popular French and English Expressions

      Published by Gunnar Sewell at Smashwords

      Copyright 2014 Gunnar Sewell

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or "it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Table of Contents

      INTRODUCTION

      keyword begins with:

      A

      B

      C

      D

      E

      F

      G

      HI

      J

      K

      L

      M

      NO

      P

      QR

      S

      T

      UV

      WXYZ

      BIBLIOGRAPHY

      INTRODUCTION

      This book of is not a study of foul language. Its scope goes beyond what anglophones refer to as slang. Initially the title was going to be French and English Colloquialisms. The term colloquialism dates back to 1751, having evolved from the Latin term colloquy, meaning conversation which, itself, comes from Latin colloquium (conference, conversation), which is a combination of con- (together) + loqui (speak). In general colloquialisms are expressions used only in speech. In the end, though, I decided to entitle this work Informal French Expressions and Their English Equivalents. It is a collection of the language used in the underworld and of figures of speech that have been deemed to have a strong figurative or metaphorical value.

      Each expression in this collection is classified by part of speech, or grammatical function, and by register. For example, a designation of very informal serves as a warning to the speaker that they should not use the expression in a formal or professional setting. The french term for very informal is "populaire". Informal translates as familier and for the purpose of this lexicon I have classified both informal and very informal as familier. Do not use any expression that is classified as familier in a situation that demands politeness, civility, courtesy or deference.

      This brings us to the next three classifications: argot, vulgaire, insulte and péjoratif. If we are to consider the register of expression as an array, these three classifications are even more base than familier. Be careful: expressions that are classified as argot, vulgaire, insulte or péjoratif may be considered crass, offensive, sexist or even racist. I have included these terms not because I condone their use. Rather, this work is intended to inform and to serve as an historical account of informal french expressions.

      Argot does not only translate as slang, but also jargon. Argot can refer to the specialized vocabulary used in specific fields such as computer science, cycling, etc. Of course argot also translates as slang.

      In the interest of making entries concise, the following terms are used: qn meaning quelqu'un, qch meaning quelque chose, s.o. meaning someone, and s.b. meaning somebody.

      A simple designation of nom means that the noun is not gender specific (ie: nm, nf, nfpl, nmpl). Nom means that the entry is invariable. Fam, for familier, applies to expressions that are informal or colloquial. English expressions may be followed by words in parantheses; these words are optional.

      Sometimes an informal or slang term will exist in French and not in English and vice versa. This is why it is important to heed the level of language, or register, that is specified for each French entry.

      Pronominal verbs are presented with the verb itself followed by a comma and "se". Example: coltiner, se (v pron, argot)
.

      A sentence that contains no verb and is not an interjection is called une phrase nominale.

      Phr means sentence.

      Expressions classed as courant are neither slang nor informal. A small sampling of these expressions have been included for their figurative or metaphorical qualities.

      A special thanks to all the people who helped with this collection of expressions: Margaux Lalande, Catherine de Camaret, Gilles Roucaute.

      The book cover was created by Ivana Obradovic.

      A

      abattre son jeu (i) show one’s hand (cards). Lorsqu’il abattit son jeu, son adversaire sauta de joie. (ii) (figuré) to reveal one’s plan. Je ne compte pas abattre mon jeu au prochain procès.

      abois, être aux ~ to be at bay. Je suis aux abois depuis que je me suis fait licencier.

      abouler (vt, argot) to bring; to hand over; to cough up. (i) Aboule l’oseille. (ii) Aboule le fric lui dit le malfrat en le menaçant.

      abreuver qn d’injures, de coups literally, to shower s.o. with insults, blows. Ces deux hommes l’ont abreuvé de coups suite à un désaccord.

      accro (adj et nom) (i) junkie (ii) a nut (for or about) someone or something. Je suis accro au chocolat, c’est plus fort que moi.

      affaire, être à son ~ to be in one’s element.

      affaire est dans le sac. L’ ~ (phr, fam) It’s a done deal. Je viens de signer le contrat, l’affaire est dans le sac.

      affaire, lâcher l’~ to let it go; to drop it. Je lâche l’affaire, je n’arriverai jamais à le faire changer d’avis.

      affiche, faire / jeter de l’ ~ (loc v, fam) to flaunt oneself.

      affiche, se taper l' ~ (loc v, fam) to make a laughing stock of onself. Il s’est tapé l’affiche lorsqu’il est tombé dans les escaliers à la cérémonie de remise des diplômes.

      affiche mal, Ça l’~ (phr, argot) to make a bad impression. Ça l’affiche mal d’avoir un casier judiciaire lorsqu’on postule pour un emploi.

      afficher qn (vt, fam) to draw attention to someone in order to humiliate them. Sa mère l’a affiché/l’a mis à l’affiche devant tous ses copains en racontant qu’il suçait toujours son pouce.

      aigle, Ce n’est pas un ~ he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.

      ainf (nf, Verlan) hunger. Il faut que je m’achète un sandwich, j’ai trop ainf.

      al, être ~ to be present. Je suis al, je viens de me garer devant la maison. Verlan from là.

      aller de main morte, ne pas y ~ (loc v, fam) (i) to be not half-hearted / half-assed about it. Tu n’y es pas allé de main morte avec la voiture. il faut refaire toute la carrosserie. (ii) to make no bones about sth. Syn: ne pas y aller avec le dos de la cuillère; ne pas faire les choses à moitié; ne pas faire de demi.

      allonger la courroie (loc v, fam) to make the most of it; to eke it out.

      allumé (adj et n, argot) (i) turned on; (ii) crazy. Cet homme est allumé. Il a essayé de traverser l’atlantique à la nage.

      allumer (vt, argot) (i) to seduce. Il s’est fait allumer par la serveuse la dernière fois que nous sommes allés boire un verre ensemble. (ii) to bawl out. Sa mère l’a allumé lorsqu’elle a reçu son bulletin scolaire désastreux.

      allumeuse (nf, argot) a sexy, hot babe; a prick teaser; a woman with sex appeal. Cette fille est une allumeuse, aucun homme ne lui résiste.

      alouettes vous tombent toutes roties dans le bec, attendre que les ~ (phr, fam) to wait around for something to happen (rather than work to make it happen).

      alouf ou allouf (nf) a match stick.

      alpaguer (vt, argot) to arrest; to collar; to catch. Syn: choper; serrer.

      ambiancer (vt, argot) (i) to amuse people; (ii) to attempt to persuade someone to do something; (iii) to set the mood for, or animate, an evening meal, etc. Dès mon arrivée, j’ai ambiancé la soirée.

      amerloque (n, argot) American. Grace aux amerloques, on trouve des hamburgers aux quatre coins du monde.

      amocher (vt, argot) (i) to make ugly; (ii) to hurt; (iii) to damage; to mess up; to thrash or beat up someone; to make mince meat of someone. Son coup de poing lui a bien amoché le visage, il aura un œil au beurre noir d’ici peu.

      anicroche (nf, fam) a hitch, catch, snag. Malgré quelques petites anicroches, les syndicalistes réussirent à faire passer le nouveau budget.

      ap (adv de négation, argot) not; no. (this form of negation is not coupled with ne). Verlan for pas. J’en ai ap, va demander à quelqu’un d’autre.

      appart (nm, fam) flat; pad; apartment. Venez voir mon nouvel appart.

      aquarium (nm, argot) establishment where pimps hang out. Avec tous ces fumeurs, cette salle est devenue un véritable aquarium.

      araignée au plafond, avoir une ~ to have bats in the belfry; to have a screw loose.

      arcan (nm, argot) an outlaw; a shady character; a hooligan; a crook; a thief. Pas un rat en vue dans l’impasse où les arcans planquaient leur bagnole.

      arçons, perdre les ~ (loc v, fam) to become confused; to make someone uncomfortable. Pour sa défense, Paul avait préparé un beau discours plein d’arguments hypocrites. C’était sans compter sur l’habileté du juge. Il lui a fait perdre les arçons en moins de cinq minutes!

      argent n’a pas d’odeur, l’ ~ (phr, courant) This proverb refers to the fact that one cannot truly know where the money that they touch has

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