Expressions and Turns of Phrase

You'll come across idiomatic expressions in almost every walk of French life, from the high society of Monte Carlo to les banlieues of Paris. This page is a compilation of such themed-expressions, based on food; colour; and the human body. Note: Literal translations are in brackets.

Food-related expressions | Les Expressions de Nourriture

French	English
travailler pour des prunes	to work for peanuts (prunes)
tomber dans les pommes	to faint (to fall into apples)
c'est du beurre	it's great (it's butter)
avoir la patate	to feel energetic (to have potatoes)
avoir la pêche	to be great (to have peaches)
marcher sur des oeufs	to walk on eggs (egg shells)
rouger comme une tomate	to blush (to go red like a tomato)
faire le poireau	to wait in line (to make like leeks)
avoir un coeur d'artichaut	to fall in love easily (to have heart like an artichoke)
mettre son grain de sel	take it with a pinch of salt
mettre de l'eau dans son vin	to take it easy (put water in your wine)
cela compte pour du beurre	worthless (that counts for butter)
couper la poire en deux	to meet half-way (to divide a pear in two)

* Par example: I am really well! » j'ai la pêche!

Lesson: Do you know your French food vocabulary?

Colour-related expressions | Les Expressions de Couleur

French	English
avoir un peur bleu	to be scared to death (to have a blue fear)
avoir de idées noires	to have the blues (to have black thoughts)
il en a vu des vertes et des pas mûres	he's been through a lot (he has seen the greens and not the ripes)
il fait nuit noire	it's pitch black (it's a black night)
un bleu	bruise (a blue)
une examen blanc	mock exam (a white exam)
une série noire	a run of bad luck (black series)
une voix blanche	toneless voice (a white voice)
rire jaune	to force a laugh (yellow laugh)
se mettre au vert	to go to the country (to put itself in the green)

Lesson: Do you know the French colours of the rainbow?

Body-related expressions | Les Expressions de Corps

E:  A little bird told me so
F:  Mon petit doigt me l'a dit
T:  My little finger told me so

E:  To get to the bottom of it
F:  En avoir le coeur net

E:  He bothers me
F:  Il me casse le pieds
T:  He breaks my feet

E:  He's out-of-practice / rusty
F:  Il a perdu la main
T:  He's lost the hand

E:  I'm amazed!
F:  Les bras m'en tombent!
T:  My arms have fallen!

E:  It's great!
F:  C'est le pied
T:  It's the foot

E:  Not to move an inch
F:  Ne pas bouger d'un pouce
T:  Not to move an inch/thumb

E:  She can't stand me
F:  Elle m'a dans le nez
T:  She has me in the nose

E:  That serves him right
F:  Ça lui fera les pieds
T:  That will make him get on his feet

E:  To be completely wrong
F:  Se fourrer le doigt dans l'oeil
T:  To line the finger in the eye

E:  To be hale and hearty
F:  Avoir bon pied bon oeil
T:  To have good foot good eye

E:  To be in someone's shoes
F:  Être dans la peau de quelqu'un
T:  To be in someone's skin

E:  To be incredibly stupid
F:  Être bête come ses pieds
T:  To be stupid like his feetk

E:  To be mad about someone
F:  Avoir quelqu'un dans le peau
T:  To have someone in your skin

E:  To be very kind
F:  Avoir le coeur sur la main
T:  To have a heart on the hand

E:  To come at a bad time
F:  Arriver comme un cheveu sur la soupe
T:  To arrive like a hair in soup

E:  To feel uncomfortable
F:  Se sentir mal dans sa peau
T:  To feel bad in one's skin

E:  To gain the upper hand
F:  Gagner haut la main
T:  To win the high hand

E:  To get out on the wrong side of the bed
F:  Se lever du pied gauche
T:  To get up on the left foot

E:  To have a strong stomach
F:  Avoir le coeur bien accroché
T:  To have a well-hung heart

E:  To have something on one's mind
F:  Avoir quelque chose sur le coeur
T:  To have something on the heart

E:  To help one another
F:  Se serrer les coudes
T:  To tighten the elbows

E:  To play very badly
F:  Jouer comme un pied
T:  To play like a foot

E:  To regret it
F:  S'en mordre les doigts
T:  To bite there fingers

E:  To risk one's neck
F:  Risquer sa peau
T:  To risk one's skin

E:  To speak freely
F:  Parler à coeur ouvert
T:  To speak with an open heart

Lesson: Can you tell your arms from your legs in French?