Common idioms in English — part 4 — Tuesday 28th January

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  • Les jours se suivent et ne se ressemblent pas. —> There’s no telling what tomorrow will bring. (“The days follow each other and don’t look alike.”)
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  • Un malheur ne vient jamais seul. —> When it rains, it pours. (“Misfortune never comes alone.”)
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  • Le mieux est l’ennemi de bien. —> Let well enough alone. (“Best is good’s enemy.”)
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  • Mieux vaut plier que rompre. —> Adapt and survive. (“Better to bend than to break.”)
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  • Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir. —> Prevention is better than cure. (“Better to prevent than to cure.”)
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  • Mieux vaut tard que jamais. —> Better late than never. (“Late is worth more than never.”)
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  • Les murs ont des oreilles. —> Walls have ears.
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  • Noël au balcon, Pâques au tison. —> A warm Christmas means a cold Easter. (“Christmas on the balcony, Easter at the embers.”)
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  • On ne fait pas d’omelette sans casser des œufs. —> You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.
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  • 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 [selling] the butter.”)

Common idioms in English — part 3 — Monday 27th January

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  • Il faut casser le noyau pour avoir l’amande. —> No pain no gain. (“You need to break the shell to have the almond.”)
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  • Il faut qu’une porte soit ouverte ou fermée. —> There can be no middle course. (“A door must be open or closed.”)
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  • Il faut réfléchir avant d’agir. —> Look before you leap. (“You have to think before acting.”)
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  • Il ne faut jamais dire « Fontaine, je ne boirai pas de ton eau ! » —> Never say never. (“You should never say, ‘Fountain, I will never drink your water!”)
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  • Il ne faut jamais jeter le manche après la cognée. —> Never say die. (“One should never throw the handle after the felling axe.”)
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  • Il ne faut rien laisser au hasard. —> Leave nothing to chance. (“Nothing should be left to chance.”)
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  • Il n’y a pas de fumée sans feu. —> Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. (“There’s no smoke without fire.”)
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  • Il n’y a que les montagnes qui ne se rencontrent jamais. —> There are none so distant that fate cannot bring together. (“There are only mountains that never meet.”)
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  • Il vaut mieux être marteau qu’enclume. —> It’s better to be a hammer than a nail. (“It’s better to be a hammer than an anvil.”)
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  • Impossible n’est pas français. —> There is no such word as “can’t.” (“Impossible isn’t French.”)

Word & phrase of the day with its origin — Sunday 26th January

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Nonchalantly :
My mother used to tell me not to behave so nonchalantly and to be more lively.

Origin : also non-chalant, “indifferent, unconcerned, careless, cool,” 1734, from French nonchalant “careless, indifferent,” present participle of nonchaloir “be indifferent to, have no concern for” (13c.), from non- “not” (see non-) + chaloir “have concern for,” ultimately from Latin calere “be hot” (from PIE root *kele- (1) “warm”). French chaland “customer, client” is of the same origin. Related: Nonchalantly.

Nonchalamment :
Ma mère me disait souvent d’agir moins nonchalamment et d’être plus dynamique.

Click & listen :

https://www.wordreference.com/enfr/nonchalant