Expressions idiomatiques classiques en anglais, avec traduction

Expressions idiomatiques anglaises intemporelles à connaître

72 motsA2 · 16B1 · 39B2 · 17

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Situations du quotidien · 18

Mot	Niveau	Traduction	Définition
break the ice	A2	briser la glace	to do or say something to make people feel relaxed
a piece of cake	A2	simple comme bonjour	something that is very easy to do
under the weather	B1	être patraque	feeling sick or not in good health today
hit the nail on the head	B1	mettre le doigt dessus	to say something that is exactly right
beat around the bush	B1	tourner autour du pot	to talk about other things and not the real point
bite the bullet	B1	serrer les dents	to decide to do something hard that must be done
once in a blue moon	B1	tous les trente-six du mois	very rarely, almost never happens
spill the beans	B1	vendre la mèche	to tell a secret by mistake or on purpose
the ball is in your court	B1	la balle est dans ton camp	it is now your turn to decide or act
burn the midnight oil	B1	travailler tard la nuit	to work late into the night on something
cost an arm and a leg	B1	coûter les yeux de la tête	to cost a very large amount of money
let the cat out of the bag	B1	éventer le secret	to tell a secret that was meant to be kept
kill two birds with one stone	B1	faire d'une pierre deux coups	to solve two problems with one action
when pigs fly	A2	quand les poules auront des dents	something that will never happen
cry over spilt milk	B1	regretter l'irréparable, ressasser le passé	to feel sad about something you cannot change
pull someone's leg	A2	faire marcher quelqu'un	to joke with someone and say things that are not true
take it with a grain of salt	B2	prendre avec des pincettes	to not fully believe what someone tells you
actions speak louder than words	A2	les actes valent mieux que les paroles	what you do is more important than what you say

Réussite et échec · 15

Mot	Niveau	Traduction	Définition
every cloud has a silver lining	B1	à quelque chose malheur est bon	even bad times have something good in them
a blessing in disguise	B1	un mal pour un bien	something that seems bad but is actually good
the last straw	B1	la goutte d'eau qui fait déborder le vase	the final small thing that makes you lose patience
throw in the towel	B1	jeter l'éponge	to stop trying and accept that you have lost
miss the boat	B1	rater le coche	to be too late to use a chance or opportunity
jump on the bandwagon	B2	prendre le train en marche	to start doing what is popular at the moment
turn over a new leaf	B1	tourner la page	to start acting in a better way than before
back to the drawing board	B1	revenir à la case départ	to start all over again from the beginning
hit the jackpot	B1	décrocher le gros lot	to suddenly win a large amount of money
go back to square one	B1	revenir au point de départ	to go back to the start and try again
burn bridges	B1	brûler les ponts	to end a relationship in a way you cannot fix
get out of hand	B1	échapper à tout contrôle	to become too difficult to control
easier said than done	A2	plus facile à dire qu'à faire	it sounds easy but is very hard to really do
the sky is the limit	B1	tout est possible	there is no end to how high you can go
you snooze you lose	B1	qui va à la chasse perd sa place	if you wait too long you will miss your chance

Problèmes et difficultés · 15

Mot	Niveau	Traduction	Définition
the elephant in the room	B2	le problème qu'on ignore	a big problem that nobody wants to talk about
add fuel to the fire	B1	jeter de l'huile sur le feu	to make a bad situation even worse
in the same boat	A2	dans le même bateau	in the same hard situation as someone else
on thin ice	B1	sur un terrain glissant	in a situation where you could get in trouble soon
barking up the wrong tree	B2	faire fausse route	looking for the answer in the wrong place
the tip of the iceberg	B1	la partie émergée de l'iceberg	only a small part of a much bigger problem
turn a blind eye	B1	fermer les yeux	to choose to not see a problem that is there
sit on the fence	B2	ménager la chèvre et le chou	to avoid choosing a side in an argument
see eye to eye	B1	être du même avis	to agree with someone about something
a double-edged sword	B2	une arme à double tranchant	something that has both good and bad results
open a can of worms	B2	ouvrir la boîte de Pandore	to start talking about a problem that is complex
rock the boat	B2	semer la zizanie	to do something that upsets a calm situation
between a rock and a hard place	B2	entre le marteau et l'enclume	having to choose between two bad options
a catch-22	B2	un cercle vicieux	a problem where every choice leads to another problem
curiosity killed the cat	A2	la curiosité est un vilain défaut	asking too many questions can get you into trouble

Effort et détermination · 12

Mot	Niveau	Traduction	Définition
go the extra mile	B1	en faire plus que prévu, faire un effort supplémentaire	to do more than what is expected
give it your best shot	A2	fais de ton mieux	to try as hard as you can
hang in there	A2	tiens bon	to keep going when things are hard, do not give up
keep your chin up	B1	garde le moral	to stay positive when things are difficult
practice makes perfect	A2	c'est en forgeant qu'on devient forgeron	doing something many times makes you better at it
step up to the plate	B2	prendre ses responsabilités	to take on a big task when you are needed
put your money where your mouth is	B2	joindre le geste à la parole	to prove what you say by doing it
learn the ropes	B1	apprendre les ficelles du métier	to learn how things work in a new place
get the hang of it	B1	prendre le coup de main	to begin to understand how to do something new
roll up your sleeves	B1	retrousser ses manches	to get ready to work hard on something
leave no stone unturned	B2	remuer ciel et terre	to look everywhere and try every possible way
stay on your toes	B1	rester sur ses gardes	to be ready for anything that might happen next

Savoir et vérité · 12

Mot	Niveau	Traduction	Définition
the whole nine yards	B2	le grand jeu, en entier	everything, all of it from start to finish
read between the lines	B1	lire entre les lignes	to find a hidden meaning in what someone says
a penny for your thoughts	B2	à quoi tu penses ?	asking someone what they are thinking about
better late than never	A2	mieux vaut tard que jamais	it is good to do something even if it is late
don't judge a book by its cover	A2	l'habit ne fait pas le moine	do not decide about something by how it looks
take it or leave it	A2	c'est à prendre ou à laisser	accept the offer as it is, because it will not change
two heads are better than one	A2	deux avis valent mieux qu'un	two people think of more ideas than one alone
it takes two to tango	B1	il faut être deux	both people share the blame for a problem
let sleeping dogs lie	B2	il ne faut pas réveiller le chat qui dort	do not bring up an old problem that is now calm
there's no smoke without fire	B1	il n'y a pas de fumée sans feu	if people say something, it is often partly true
speak of the devil	A2	quand on parle du loup	the person we were just talking about has arrived
a leopard can't change its spots	B2	chassez le naturel, il revient au galop	people do not really change who they are inside

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