French for Experts Trivia

1. Every night at dinner, Pierre helps me review the idioms I've learned throughout the day. When we get to "Cela fait un bail", I can't remember what it means. Pierre tells me it means the same thing as "Il y a belle lurette". What does that mean?

From Quiz French Idioms - B is for Cloche

Answer: It's been a long time.

The literal translation of "cela fait un bail" is "that makes a lease". This idiom refers to leases of agricultural land, which generally lasted for quite a long time. The literal translation of "il y a belle lurette" is "there is a beautiful little hour". "Lurette" is a deformation of "heurette" or "little hour" which, in the nineteenth century, was taken to mean an unbearably long time.

From Quiz French Idioms - A is for Pomme

Answer: They are thick as thieves.

Literal translation: They are "friends like pigs." This expression is an old one, and originates from a calembour (word-play or pun) in 16th century French. The original was "soçons comme cochons", where "soçons" meant companion or associate.

From Quiz French Equivalents of English Idioms

Answer: Il file à l'anglaise.

Tomber dans les pommes: to faint. File indienne: Indian or single file.

From Quiz English-French Deceptive Words (Faux Amis)

Answer: Charlotte can be moody.

"Lunatique" isn't "lunatic". In French, "être lunatique" means to be moody and respond differently from one time to the next. One of my French friends actually explained she was prone to mood swings on an American campus... it didn't go down too well! Originally, the word comes from luna/lune/moon: for the French, the way the shape of the moon changed was a good image (or maybe an explanation) of people's different moods; for the English the moon would make people go a bit mad... from there to the werewolf...

From Quiz T'es-tu un Québecois de souche?

Answer: Déjeuner

The standard French petit déjeuner doesn't exist in Quebec. The three meals are déjeuner, dîner and souper.

From Quiz Le Prince Caspian

Answer: Chasseur-de-Truffles

This is a French translation of Trufflehunter, literally meaning hunter of truffles.

From Quiz Nationality Words in French Idioms

Answer: rumours

The French probably experienced how in the souks of Arab and North-African towns news spread like wildfire. Faster than Western "modern" communications in the colonial times. Might be compare with what the Congolese call "radio trottoir" or the old communication style via "the tom-tom". Or just simply: "the grapevine".

From Quiz Premier Jeu de Mots

Answer: route

Faire banqueroute is bankruptcy or liquidation, (see also faire faillite), Une route rurale is one of the most difficult things to pronounce in French for "anglo-saxons" except perhaps for "Henri Grenouille", Mme de la Bruyère could live in France for fifty more years and still not be able to pronounce it! All it means is a country road. "Faire fausse route" means to take the wrong way, even figuratively.

From Quiz Vive les J!

Answer: Once upon a time, in the old days

Autrefois, il y longtemps are other words that are fairly close. Jade is jade in French as well. Dans l'avenir another way to say the future. Actuellement is one way of saying presently or at the current time.

From Quiz Joyeux Noel Felix!!!

Answer: 1982

Et oui, tant que ca! On ne dirait pas que ce film est si vieux... mais bon, il est indemodable! Ce film a ete realise par Jean-Marie Poire.

From Quiz A Provençal Sampler

Answer: Water

L'aïgo is feminine and despite its appearance the o ending is feminine in Provençal. 'l'aïgo boulido" is a kind of brothy soup with garlic hence the confusion if you've ever come across it. It actually means boiled water rather than boiled garlic. Aï is donkey. The donkey or l'âne in French is used in lots of colorful expressions in Provence.

From Quiz Questions pour un champion en herbe

Answer: le pied

"La batterie" is a drum set in this context, may be used for car battery (aka Delco amongst the seniors for a brand name) and "la pile" is for an appliance battery. Une batterie can mean an assortment as in a batterie de cuisine, a set of pots and pans. "Une caisse" means many things, case, box, even a slang word for car like "wheels" but here, it means the bass drum and therefore you use the pedal and your foot.

From Quiz Clouseau's French Interrogation Session

Answer: Bique Eze yeux arrhes eux main qui.

Bique is a female goat, Eze is a French village above Monaco. "Les arrhes" are a deposit fee for a rental or other types of purchases. Le cil is the eyelash. Le standing in French means class, prestige, as for a building you live in. Un snack is a snack bar. l'aise= ease. L'ananas is pineapple and purported to help you lose weight, thus is served after an enormous holiday meal. Laïque is lay or secular and yet, is normally referring to the fight to have religious education.

From Quiz French Vocabulary 301

Answer: A shelter, refuge, protection

Protection. Par exemple --- Le roi Mithridate prenait chaque jour une dose d'antidote pour mettre son corps a l'abri des poisons, fort prises dans les intrigues de cour.

From Quiz French Slang Wish 101

Answer: awnings (aka shutters)

If you see this on a shop, they sell canvas things even jeans but primarily awnings. As the typical one was made out of canvas but some other materials are called "stores" for awnings, even metal.

From Quiz Some Niceties Of French Grammar

Answer: a

For professions and jobs in which you are not unique, English normally uses the article, while French does not. To be a baker = etre boulanger.

From Quiz More Idiotic French Idioms

Answer: To have influence

Literally: to have a long arm

From Quiz French Slang For Food Addicts

Answer: the upper crust of high society

Typically Parisian cheese and a Parisian style of baking might be hard to find. Even 'champignons de Paris' are not mushrooms produced IN Paris, but (button)-mushrooms as popular in Paris.

From Quiz French Idioms - B is for Cloche

Answer: He rules his class with an iron fist.

The literal translation of this phrase is "Mr. Richard brings us to the stick/rod". The phrase can also mean "to boss around". "Baguette", by itself, can also mean a type of French bread, a stick, or a magic wand.

From Quiz French Equivalents of English Idioms

Answer: Il ne faut pas enfermer le loup dans la bergerie.

Bergerie: the sheep pen. Le poulailler: the hen house.

From Quiz T'es-tu un Québecois de souche?

Answer: Bienvenue

You do hear "de rien" a lot and occasionally "je vous en prie", but Quebecers will use the direct translation of the English "you're welcome" which is unknown in France.

From Quiz Le Prince Caspian

Answer: Trompillon

Nikabrik was the black-haired dwarf, his name was not changed.

From Quiz Nationality Words in French Idioms

Answer: a little glass of alcohol in between courses of meals

A slight hungry feeling might be "un petit creux". Another popular term in French cuisine is th "île flottante" or "floating island". It is not exactly icecream floating in some sauce but a kind of custard lake with poached meringues.

From Quiz Premier Jeu de Mots

Answer: mere&mère

Belle-mère : mother-in-law and also stepmother, there's only one word now. An older form is used for stepmother of the wicked variety, "la marâtre" one wouldn't use it now or the stepmother might become a marâtre. You did want to know if mothers-in law appeared in jokes as often as they do in English, didn't you? Of course they do! A popular expression for something really heavy to eat or digest is "étouffe-belle-mère" aka "étouffe-chretien". Maison mère is the main or head office of a company, as in Saint-Gobain is the maison mère of Certainteed. Maison mère comes from the convent which leads religious order. Grand-mère is grandmother, the most common way of addressing a grandmother in the nineties and two thousands, is "mamy" though that sounds odd to us! Always makes me think of Al Jolson! Une mère poule is a mother hen type. The père poule is however a father who exhibits the same behavior, not a père-coq. Now, I did put the accent in there, but technically it might not register if you're using accents with a different keyboard. I preferred to warn you though.

From Quiz Vive les J!

Answer: To gossip

Jaser is for gossip. That's going to make people gossip.

From Quiz Joyeux Noel Felix!!!

Answer: Splendid

En fait le nom vient du theatre ou les acteurs ont debute leur carriere. A la base de la "Troupe du Splendid" il y a une bande de copains d'ecole qui aimaient plus faire les pitres qu'etudier: Michel Blanc, Gerard Jugnot, Thierry Lhermite, Christian Clavier....

From Quiz A Provençal Sampler

Answer: Expression of surprise

This means "Bon Dieu" in French, still a commonly heard expression in the South of France. Many dialects across the country have the equivalent. Another expression heard in Marseille, is "Oh fan" Which is short for "Oh enfant..." meaning Christ.

From Quiz Questions pour un champion en herbe

Answer: La méditerranée

Marseille is of course located on the Mediterranean sea. A port town, it has been there for much longer than France, even predating the Romans as its name is actually "Massilia" from the Phonecian-Greek settlement there. They recently dug up a Greek ship while putting in a shopping center, and had to make the center around it.

From Quiz Clouseau's French Interrogation Session

Answer: No, de haut elle hisse foule.

Voyons voir, Havre, major port city in the North of France, Yorre, another city name as in Vichy St Yorre, bottled mineral water that tastes of sulfur. Hisser= to raise a flag or mast. Dose= same word. Bail is your lease on your apartment. Le droit au bail is the right to a lease? in any case, they charge you a fee on top of your rent. Hâte is haste. "J'ai hâte de quitter ce bureau", I'm just dying to leave this office. La foule is the crowd.

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Last Updated Nov 16 2024 5:51 AM

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