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Idioms?

An Idiomatic Expression (idiom) is an expression which cannot be literally translated between all languages. For example, it's raining cats and dogs should not be translated as il pleut de chats et chiens because you'll just be laughed at.

List of French Idioms

appuyer sur le champignon - to go very fast, accelerate (lit: to push on the mushroom)

avoir d'autres chats à fouetter - to have better things to do; other fish to fry (lit: to have other cats to whip)

avoir un chat dans la gorge - to have a frog in your throat (lit: to have a cat in your throat)

avoir les dents longs - to be ambitious (lit: to have long teeth)

être dans ses petits souliers - to not feel comfortable (lit: to be in little shoes)

être haut comme trois pommes - to be small (lit: to be high like three apples)

faire d'une pierre deux coups - to kill two birds with one stone (lit: to do one stone, two blows)

ne pas être dans son assiette - to not feel yourself (lit: to not be in your plate)

ne pas être de la dernière pluie - to not be born yesterday (lit: to not be born with the last rain)

passer une nuit blanche - to have a sleepless night (lit: to spend a white night)

pendre la crémaillère - to have a house-warming party (lit: to hang a chimney hook)

se creuser la tête - to think really hard (lit: to dig in one's head)

se croire sorti de la cuisse de Jupiter - to think oneself is better than everyone else (lit: to come out of Jupiter's thigh)

se mettre le doigt dans l'œil - to make a mistake (lit: to put one's finger in one's eye)

sucrer les fraises - to be senile, crazy (lit: to sugar the strawberries)

tomber dans les pommes - to faint, pass out (lit: to fall in the apples)

être maquillé(e) comme une voiture volée - wear too much make up (lit: to be made up like a stolen car)

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