 |
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
||
|
French Saying
|
English Saying
|
Actual Translation
|
| Quand les poules auront les dents | When pigs fly | When chickens will have teeth |
| Avoir le cafard | To be depressed or down | To have the cockroach |
| Ce n'est pas la mer a boire | It's not as bad as that | It's not the sea to drink |
| C'est la poule qui chante qui a fait l'oeuf | Protest too much - the guilty person makes the most noise | It's the hen that sings that laid the egg |
| C'est le ton qui fait la musique | It's not what you say, it's how you say it | It's the tone that makes the music |
| Un chien vivant vaut mieux qu'un lion mort | A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush | A live dog is worth more than a dead lion |
| Un de perdu, dix de retrouves | There are plenty more fish in the sea. | One lost, ten found |
| L'arbe cache souvent la foret | Can't see the forest for the trees | The tree often hides the forest |
| Un clou chasse l'autre | Life goes on | One nail chases the other |
| Entre l'arbe et l'ecorce, il ne faut pas mettre le doigt | Caught between a rock and a hard place | Between the tree and the bark, one shouldn't put a finger |
| Entre le marteau et l'enclume, il ne faut pas mettre le doigt | Caught between a rock and a hard place | Between the hammer and the anvil, one shouldn't put a finger |
| Qui nait poule aime a caqueter | A leopard can't change it's spots | One born as a hen will enjoy cackling |
| Il faut casser le noyau pour avoir l'amande | No pain, no gain | You need to break the shell to have the almond |
| On ne peut pas avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre | You can't have your cake and eat it too | You can't have the butter and the money from the butter |
| Poser un lapin | To stand someone up | To put down a rabbit |
| Une poule mouillee | A coward | A wet chicken |
| Ce n'est pas un mauvais cheval | He's not a bad guy | He's not a bad horse |
| Les carottes sont cuites | The die is cast | The carrots are cooked |
| Courir sur le haricot | To get on someone's nerves | To run on the bean |
| Un froid de canard | Very cold | A duck's cold |
| Appeler un chat un chat | To call a spade a spade | To call a cat a cat |
| Souris qui n'a qu'un trou est bientot prise | Better to be safe than sorry. Prevention is better than cure. | A mouse that only has one hole is quickly caught |
| Avoir un chat dans la gorge | To have a frog in the throat | To have a cat in the throat |
| Qui vole un oeuf vole un boeuf | Once a thief, always a thief. Little lies lead to big lies. | He who steals an egg will steal an ox. |
| Manger les pissenlits par la racine | To push up daisies. To be dead. | To eat dandelions from the roots |
| Ce n'est pas la vache qui crie le plus fort qui fait le plus de lait | All talk and no action | It's not the cow that moos the loudest that makes the most milk |
|
Avoir d'autres chats a fouetter
|
To have better things to do. To have other fish to fry. | To have other cats to whip. |
|
|
||
|
© Copyright 2008. All rights reserved |
||
 |
