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french/english idioms


Patf
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I came across a french idiom today which is very close to our english version:
"tempete dans un verre d'eau"
So which came first, the french or the english?
Another one is "vent en poupe".
Have you any more?

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Gosh, Pat, I have been collecting these expressions for as long as I have lived in France!  Could spend hours talking about them so I will just tell you my most recent.

donner la langue au chat

I don't have a true translation but I have my own idea about it which may or may not be correct.  I use it in the sense of "it's in the lap of the gods" which I am sure would not mean anything to a French person!  To put it another way, it's expressing an inability to explain something and so "I have given up trying to find a solution to the problem".

Perhaps someone can explain it better, svp?

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That's a hard one, Oiseau! Had to look it up.
Those that have an english equivalent interest me because I believe a nation's language, and especially their idioms,  reflects their mentality. and there are quite a few which are similar in english and french.
One difference between the two (imo) is words for fear. I think french has more than english.

And pain  (not bread) has more in english than french.

What do you think?

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OK, Patf, I see what you mean.

I haven’t continued your "pain and fear" trials, but with a bit of help from this excellent website

https://dictionary.reverso.net/english-french/

I can come up with a few more:

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

Un "tiens" vaut deux "tu l'auras"

The cobbler's children are the worst shod

Les cordonniers sont les plus mal chaussés

A little bird told me

Mon petit doigt m'a dit

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Loin des yeux, près du cœur

His Achilles' heel

Son talon d'Achille

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth

À cheval donné on ne regarde pas les dents

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

Il ne faut pas mettre tous ses œufs dans le même panier

Every cloud has a silver lining

Après la pluie, le beau temps

Kill two birds with one stone

Faisant d'une pierre deux coups

To let sleeping dogs lie

Ne pas réveiller le chat qui dort

Let the cat out of the bag

Cracher le morceau

When pigs fly

Quand les poules auront des dents

Raining cats and dogs

Pleut des cordes

Something smells fishy

Il y a quelquechose qui cloche

Spitting image

Le portrait tout craché

Ressembler comme deux gouttes d'eau

The last straw

La goutte qui fait déborder le vase

To cut a long story short

En bref

Her hobby

Son violon d'Ingres

Can’t teach an old dog new tricks

On n'apprend pas au vieux singes à faire des grimaces

And this quite funny one, that I have occasionally heard said ironically, but which of course comes from traditional fairy tales:

They all lived happily ever after

Ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d'enfants

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Gardian - I think I've heard that one too.
And  Loiseau - [:D] just what I meant!
There's another one I got from a french neighbour whose garden always looked good.  I said  ( in french) you have green fingers, and she gave me the french equivalent. Can't remember it now, but it's very close.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Pat, I tripped across this one whilst reading about Hulot's resignation this morning (and I thought about your thread) and how it is viewed in the Macron camp.

Il ne joue pas carte sur table.  Didn't put all his cards on the table?  Would that be it? 

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Yes that's a good example Mint.
As I (think) I wrote earlier, I think language reflects a nation's essence. So I would like to think that we british have something in common with the french. Many of whom I became close to.

In spite of earlier wars, and current Brexit differences.

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I recently tried a couple of things which fell completely flat with my French audience. I will use English here to avoid mucking about with the French accents.

On entering the local bar, I was asked by my good friend,Fred, the barman: "A beer?"

I replied as I might in my UK local, but in French: "Is the Pope catholic?"

Fred, confused, as were the other customers: "Yes, of course he is. Why do you ask? Would you like a beer?"

Then to a lorry driver whose vehicle had broken down outside our house and was stuck for 7 hours until a mechanic got him going at 9pm. I had supplied them both with refreshments and offered the use of our "facilities" and said to them as they were finally leaving: "I hope your dinners are not in the dog."

The driver's reply: "In the dog? We don't have a dog."

Vive la difference.
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Yes their sense of humour is different from ours.
Did anyone see the tv series Excuse my French?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excuse_My_French_(2006_TV_series)
Marcus Brigstocke tried out one of his standup routines on a french audience, I think it was in Paris. It fell flat, so he made it more slapstick and they loved it.

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Pat, I have found another one that  you might like.  Found in one of those waiting room magazines.....this time at my kiné's. 

The expression is les pièds à terre et la tete dans les étoiles.  I think I prefer to have my head amongst the stars like the French instead of in the clouds like the Brits.  France 1, GB 0 on this occasion[:P]

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That's a good one Mint - so close.

Richard - "F u c k you" seems to get a good response too."
I know, it was printed on the dusty windscreen  of an abandoned car next to our first house.
Why do you think they sometimes resort to english?

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