Posted by Chanda
I broke my husband’s iPhone yesterday and no, he was not content. And just like many other people in today’s society, I decided to share this event with all of my friends on Facebook. About an hour later, one of my French friends responded with “Tu as des mains à faire des mottes!” and to be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, so I did some investigating. And it turns out that ‘avoir des mains à faire des mottes’ is an expression from the Languedoc region where Montpellier is located and where my friend is from. Well, ‘motte’ can mean ‘a clod of earth’ or ’slab of butter’. So, it looks as though in this case it is referring to the slab of butter and my friend is referring to the fact that my hands are slippery perhaps. Maybe a native French reader out there could help me out with this one by leaving a comment…???
In any case, this Facebook comment got me thinking about expressions again because after all, they are quite fun. So, today I’ll give you some more expressions with ‘avoir’.
| avoir le pot près des talons |
to be short |
| avoir du pot |
to be lucky |
| avoir le cul bordé de nouilles |
to be very lucky |
| avoir le nez creux |
to have flair |
| avoir les dents longues |
to be very ambitious |
| avoir une araignée au plafond |
to be a bit crazy, but not so much that you are dangerous or bothersome |
| avoir un polichinelle dans le tiroir |
to be pregnant |
| avoir un cœur d’artichaut |
to easily and often fall in love |
| avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre |
to ask for more food than you can eat |
| avoir un nom à coucher dehors |
to have a name that is difficult to pronounce or remember |
And now, j’ai un poil dans la main (I’m feeling lazy), so I’m going to end this article now. I hope you enjoyed it!
Posted by Chanda
As I’ve written before, understanding and then being able to use expressions and slang in another language is a huge step forward in the language learning process. So, I’ll let you in on some more French slang. These expressions sound like they have something to do with the body, but in fact, do not. Be careful when using them!
| (être) à deux doigts de |
J’étais à deux doigts de parler quand il m’a interrompu. |
to be on the verge
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| (ne pas) bouger d’un poil |
Assis-toi ! Ne bouge pas d’un poil! |
not to budge an inch
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| (se) bouffer le nez |
Ces deux se bouffent le nez sans arrêt ! |
to fight
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| ça saute aux yeux |
Quelle voiture ! Ça saute aux yeux qu’il n’est pas pauvre. |
it’s obvious
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| (se) casser la gueule |
Attention à la descente! Tu vas te casser la gueule ! |
to break one’s neck
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| (se) casser la tête |
Je me suis cassé la tête pour trouver mes amis d’école. |
to rack one’s brain over something
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| un casse-pieds |
Quel casse-pieds! Il ne me laisse jamais tranquille! |
| a pain in the neck |
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| dégueuler |
J’ai dégueulé dans l’avion. |
to vomit
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| faire la gueule |
Ne fais pas la gueule parce que tes parents t’ont dit non. |
to pout
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| foutre un coup de main |
Est-ce que tu peux me foutre un coup de main avec ça ? |
to give someone a hand
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| les bras m’en tombent |
On m’a volé le sac! Les bras m’en tombent. |
I’m stunned!
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| (s’en) mordre les doigts |
Je n’ai pas acheté la robe que j’ai vue hier. Je m’en mords les doigts. |
| to regret something |
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Make a Byki list of the expressions to learn them more easily with Byki Deluxe.
Posted by Chanda
Because I love idioms since they are like locks on doors to language fluency, I’ll provide you with some more. These all have to do with agreeing and having knowledge about things. Use them wisely! 
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Voyons les choses du même œil.
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We agree.
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Nous somme sur la même longueur d’onde.
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We’re on the same wavelength.
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Je le connais comme le fond de ma poche.
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I know the place extremely well.
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C’est un bruit qui court.
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I heard it on the grapevine.
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C’est aussi sûr que deux et deux font quatre.
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You just have to put two and two together.
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Il connaît les ficelles.
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He knows the ropes. (He knows how everything works.)
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Tu m’as sorti les mots de la bouche.
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You took the words right out of my mouth.
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Ça me dit quelque chose.
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It sounds familiar.
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Posted by Chanda
You may hear and see expressions all the time and sometimes they can be puzzling, other times they are crucial to understanding or feeling that you are a part of a conversation. Today, I’ll provide some French expressions that you can use anytime, but especially when working.
TIME EXPRESSIONS
| de temps en temps |
from time to time |
| à la longue |
in the end |
| juste à temps |
just in the nick of time |
| au plus vite / sur-le-champ |
as quickly as possible |
| tous les 36 du mois |
very rarely |
| en un rien de temps / en un tournemain |
in a very short time |
| à la dernière seconde |
at the last possible moment |
| il est grand temps… |
It’s about time… |
| tout à coup |
suddenly |
| pour le moment |
temporarily |
WHEN CONFUSED
| J’ai perdu le fil. |
I forgot what I was talking about. |
| Je n’y comprends rien. |
I don’t understand anything. |
| Je n’ai pas pu placer un mot. |
I didn’t have a chance to say anything. |
| Ça m’est sorti de l’esprit. |
It escaped my memory. |
| le cul entre deux chaises |
find it difficult to choose between two choices |
| Je l’ai sur le bout de la langue. |
It’s on the tip of my tongue. |
| Ça me dépasse. |
That’s too difficult for me. |
| Je me creuse la cervelle. |
I’m racking my brains. |
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Utilisez-les bien!
