French Expressions Quiz

Answer: To be sad or depressed. 'Avoir le cafard' (literally 'to have the cockroach') means to be sad or depressed. It dates back to the 19th century and refers to a black insect, a symbol of melancholy.

Answer: To be lazy. 'Avoir un poil dans la main' (literally 'to have a hair in the hand') means to be lazy. The expression suggests that someone has a hair preventing them from working efficiently.

Answer: To pretend not to hear. 'Faire la sourde oreille' (literally 'to play the deaf ear') means to pretend not to hear, often to avoid responding or acting.

Answer: To solve two problems with a single action. 'Faire d'une pierre deux coups' (literally 'to do two hits with one stone'; equivalent to 'kill two birds with one stone') means to solve two problems or achieve two goals with a single action.

Answer: To annoy or bother someone. 'Casser les pieds' (literally 'to break someone's feet') means to annoy or persistently bother someone. A more vulgar variant exists referencing another body part, but this one remains polite in company.

Answer: To muddy a situation to avoid giving a clear answer. 'Noyer le poisson' (literally 'to drown the fish') means to deliberately muddy a situation to avoid answering clearly. It's the favorite technique of politicians and children caught red-handed.

Answer: To face a difficulty head-on without hesitation. 'Prendre le taureau par les cornes' (literally 'to take the bull by the horns') means to courageously face a difficulty or problem head-on. A method recommended for problems, strongly discouraged with actual bulls.

Answer: To exaggerate the importance of a minor thing. 'En faire tout un fromage' (literally 'to make a whole cheese out of it') means to dramatize or exaggerate the importance of a trivial event. The quintessential French expression for accusing someone of making a mountain out of a molehill.

Answer: To needlessly complicate something simple. The expression 'chercher midi à quatorze heures' dates from the 16th century. It illustrates the absurdity of looking for something at an impossible moment (noon will never arrive at 2 pm). It describes someone who creates difficulties where none exist, or seeks a tortured explanation for something obvious.

Answer: Being the odd one out with a couple. You are the awkward witness to a couple, a third wheel. The image is said to come from servants who held the light for their masters… while being expected to look elsewhere.

Answer: To be completely lost or not know what to do anymore. It means to make no progress, to struggle, or to be confused. The image of pedaling through a dish of sauerkraut evokes an absurd, ineffective action.

Answer: To cause difficulties for someone. It comes from the era when poorly prepared wool thread made weavers' work very difficult. Figuratively, it means to put up resistance or complicate someone's task.

Answer: To arrive at an inopportune or out-of-place moment. Refers to something that happens at the wrong time or is completely unsuited to the situation, like finding a hair in your soup.

Answer: An extremely difficult or lengthy task to accomplish. A reference to religious processions where one had to carry the cross and the banner, which was very burdensome. Today it refers to complicated administrative procedures.

Answer: To be driven by overflowing energy. Historically linked to demonic possession, the modern meaning refers to an incredibly dynamic, tireless, and passionate person.

Answer: There's no reason to rush. A widely used Swiss expression (literally 'there's no fire at the lake') meaning to stay calm and not act hastily.

Answer: To be entirely under someone's influence or control. Comes from the image of a bear or bull being led wherever one wants by pulling on a ring fixed in its nose.

Answer: To try to satisfy two opposing parties without upsetting anyone. Inspired by the riddle of the boatman who must cross the river with a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage without one eating the other.

Answer: To fail, to come away empty-handed. The expression has nothing to do with cabbage: it comes from skittles, where a 'coup blanc' was a throw that knocked down no pins. In the Berry dialect, 'coup' was pronounced 'choup', hence the distortion into 'chou blanc'. To 'faire chou blanc' is therefore to miss the target completely and return empty-handed.

Answer: To be under scrutiny, in the hot seat. Under the Ancien Régime, the sellette was a small, low stool on which the accused was made to sit during questioning. Uncomfortable, and deliberately so.