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comme un cheveu sur la soupe
at the most awkward moment
Literally,
"like a hair in the soup".
A metaphor used, for example, to characterize the arrival of an
uninvited guest.
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retourner le couteau dans la plaie
rub salt in old wounds
Also
translated as "reopen old wounds";
literally, "stick the knife back in the wound". Ouch!
Ecoutez
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c'est
pas de la tarte
it'is
no pushover
Nor is it a cream puff.
The French locution is usually translated as "it's no easy
matter" or " it's no joke" .
More literally, "it's not a piece of cake", and even more
literally as "it' not a tart".
Ecoutez
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c'est
pas la mer à boire
it
is not an impossibility
Also translated as "it is not an endless task"; literally , "it
is not the sea to drink"?
Ecoutez
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une
de perdues, dix de retrouvées
you
can't win ' em all
Specially
to Sergio.
Also translated as "win a few, lose a few", almost literally as
"lose one, find ten"? No matter how translated, clearly
the message conveyed is "don't worry, there are lots of good
fish in the sea."
Ecoutez
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on
pourrait entendre une mouche voler
you
could have heard a pin drop
Literally, "you could have heard a fly fly". Which language says
it better?
Ecoutez
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lancer
une idée en l'air
brainstorm
Also
translated as "toss out an idea" . Literally, "toss an
idea in the air". And wheter it lands in Silicon Valley?
Ecoutez
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chassez
le naturel, il revient au galop !
what's
bred in the bones comes out in the flesh
Translated
almost lierally, "drive out the natural, it comes back in a
hurry" . At any rate, try as we may, we cannot easily change
our essential natures
Ecoutez
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blanc
comme un cachet d'aspirine
white
as a sheet!
Literally,
"white as an aspirin tablet."
Ecoutez
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changes
de disque !
give
it a rest!
Also
translated as "change the subject!" or "let's drop
it!"
The literal meaning is "change the record!"
Ecoutez
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avoir
quelqu'un dans le nez
bear a grudge
Literally,
"have someone in the nose". Wow!
Ecoutez
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comme
un cheveu sur la soupe
at the most awkward moment
Literally,
"like a hair in the soup". A metaphor used, for example, to characterize
the arrival of an invited guest.
Ecoutez
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revenons
à nos mouton
back to business
Better
translated as "let'get back to the subject at hand"; literally,
"let' s return to our sheep"
Ecoutez
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raconter
des salades
spin yarns or tell stories
More
literally, "tell lies". Salade, of course, also translates as "salad",
but that is not what is meant here.
Ecoutez
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être
heureux comme un poisson dans l'eau
be happy as a pig in shit
More
conveniently and literally translated as "be happy as a fich in
water".
Ecoutez
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au
pied de la lettre
literally
Also
translated as "exactly" or "to the very letter"; literally, "to
the foot of the letter".
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être
soigné aux petits oignons
be looked after really well
A
masterpiece of culinary idiom, also translated as "be given excellent
attention"
Ecoutez
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Il
parle français comme une vache espagnole
he massacres the French language
Literally,
"he speaks French like a Spanish cow"
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with
a french accent
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with
a spanish accent
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