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French Idioms
To know a language you have to know its idioms, and French is no exception. All forms of the language, from the highly colloquial to the utterly erudite use idioms. Browse below to find the idiom you need, or just explore the many ways you can express yourself in French.
A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P Q R S T U V
panne d’oreiller
lie in; sleep in (lit.: a pillow failure)
par acquit de conscience
just to be sure; ste one’s mind at rest (lit.: for receipt of conscience)
par bonheur
fortunately, luckily
par contre
on the other hand (lit.: for against)
par endroits
here and there; in places; in spots
par le fait
in point of fact
par mesure de précaution
as a precautionary measure
parler à bâtons rompus
talk about this and that; talk about little things (lit.: talk over broken sticks)
partir ventre à terre
leave in a flash; race off (lit.: to leave belly-to-ground. Note that this is used can be in reference to taking flight from a criminal activity)
partir du bon pied
get off to a good start
partir en guerre
go to war; launch a war
passer au peigne fin
search thoroughly; go through something with a fine-toothed comb (lit.: to pass through a fine comb)
passer un savon à qqn
reprimand someone; give someone a good dressing-down (lit.: to pass a bar of soap to/over someone)
payer les pots cassés
pay the piper; suffer the consequences
pédaler dans la semoule
take leave of one’s senses
perdre la main
lose the lead
perdre la tête
lose one’s mind
perdre son temps à des broutilles
spend one's time on trivial, irrelevant matters
petit à petit
slowly, little by little
petit jour
day-break
petite nature
delicate; fragile; hothouse orchid. 1. Elle est une petite nature.
piquer un roupillon
take a nap
pisser de la copie
churn out trash, rubbish (lit.: piss out material)
pisser dessus
no give a shit about; not care about (lit.: piss on something)
pleuvoir à torrents
pour with rain; pour
pointer son nez
show up; appear
poser un lapin à qqn
stand someone up
pour ainsi dire
so to speak (lit.: to say as such)
pour comble de malheur
to crown it all; to top it all (lit.: for the summit of misfortune)
pour de rire
for fun
pour de vrai
for real; seriously; really
pour l’amour du ciel
for heaven’s sake
pour plus de précaution
to be on the safe side
pour une bouchée de pain
for next to nothing; for a song
prendre au mot
do what someone says; take action based on someone’s words
prendre de court
catch someone unawares; take someone aback
prendre de la bouteille
become mellow; grow mellow
prendre l’habitude
be in the habit of; make a habit of
prendre la fuite
run away; take off
prendre la fuite
flee; take flight; run away
prendre la peine
take the trouble
prendre la relève de
take over from
prendre le large
clear off; make scarce; take the lead
prendre son courage à deux mains
summon up one’s courage
prendre son point d’appui
take a stand
prendre un bain de foule
mingle with a crowd; work a crowd
prendre une résolution
make up one's mind
prêter le flanc
attack
propre-sur-soi
squeaky clean