J'ai bon pied bon oeil

This week I've found myself learning idiomatic expressions in French to do with body parts, so I figured I'd make an entry of it and share some of them. I think it's interesting how some expressions' equivalents in English also involve body parts, but different ones than in French.

tête à claque, literally 'head to slap' = a person who is so irritating you feel like slapping them everytime you see them
faire la tête, literally 'to do the head' = to sulk

casse-pieds, literally 'foot breaker' = a pain in the neck
faire un pied de nez à quelqu'un, literally 'make a foot of nose at someone' = to thumb one's nose at someone
avoir bon pied bon oeil, literally 'to have good foot, good eye' = to be fit as a fiddle

mener quelqu'un par le bout du nez, literally 'lead someone by the end of the nose' = to have someone under one's thumb
avoir du nez, literally 'to have some nose' = to be shrewd
faire quelque chose les doigts dans le nez, literally 'to do something with your fingers in your nose' = to do something easily (à la 'I could do that with my hands behind my back')

faire la fine bouche devant quelque chose, literally 'to make the delicate mouth in front of something' = to turn one's nose up at something
la gueule de bois, literally 'mouth of wood' = a hangover

tirer les oreilles de quelqu'un, literally 'to pull someone's ears' = to tell someone off (like when a parent grabs a child's ear?)

Alright, maybe more later. A bientôt!
Maggie B.

Faux amis

I am going to shamelessly steal my friend Allison's idea for her blog and share some 'faux amis' or false cognates. Some of them are interesting, some of them are just surprising, and some of them are funny and incredibly embarassing if confused.


la promiscuité ≠ sexual promiscuity
= proximity, especially unwanted

plein(e) ≠ full, as in not hungry
= pregnant, usually referring to an animal

préservatif ≠ preservative, as in food
= condom

blesser ≠ to bless, benedict
= to harm

décevoir ≠ to deceive
= to disappoint

réaliser ≠ to realize, that you forgot something for example
= to achieve or to direct a film

séculaire ≠ secular, nonreligious
= sensitive

surnom ≠ surname or last name
= nickname

avertissement ≠ advertisement
= a warning or caution

bigot(e) ≠ intolerant, narrow-minded
= over-devout

candide ≠ open, frank, sincere
= naïve, ingenuous

draguer ≠ to pull along
= to flirt, to hit on

entrée ≠ the main course
= the appetizer

Enjoy!
Maggie B.