Mots difficiles en anglais

mane

manecrinière « Horse with long mane. » « Male lions have a prominent mane, which is the most recognisable feature of the species. »

twig

brindille « Crows sometimes use tools, from twigs to their own feathers. »
piger « He didn't twig what was going on until it was too late. » « She kept dropping hints but I still didn't twig. »

downpour

downpourpluie torrentielle, saucée. « A sudden downpour. »

behemoth

monstre « Facebook, the social media behemoth. »

to indict

[prononcer endite] inculper => « prosecutors are only supposed to indict people on stuff they can prove. »

to get cracking

s'y mettre « Well, time to get cracking ! »

N word

moyen politiquement correct de dire "nigga", "nigger", "negro" « One of the students is alleged to have used the N word during the altercation »

to scarper

ficher le camp « Everyone panicked and scarpered out of the windows. »

steadfast

ferme, résolu « We are grateful that God remains steadfast in his love for us. »

grueling

exténuant, éprouvant. Grueling schedule, grueling day. « A grueling eight-year conflict. »

busker

buskermusicien ambulant, musicien de rue « He earned a living as a busker. »

daisy

daisypâquerette « A field of daisies. »
daisy chain = guirlande de pâquerettes
as fresh as a daisy = frais comme une rose
daisy-wheel printer = imprimante à marguerite

heap

heaptas, monceau, pile « a heap of clothes » « a heap of coal » « a heap of work » « a heap of problems ».
a rubbish heap = un tas d'ordures  
to be at the bottom / top of the heap = être en bas/haut de l'échelle « if you want to stay on top of the heap. »
heaps = des tas « Is ther misery in your country ? Heaps. »
heaps of = beaucoup de « I've got heaps of work to do » « We've got heaps of time » « a job that might suit someone with heaps of experience. »
to heap = entasser, amonceler « They heaped the dead leaves in the corner of the garden. »        
to heap praise / gifts on sb = couvrir qn d'éloges / de cadeaux  

peek

to have a peek at sb/sth = jeter un coup d'œil à qn/qch → « Could I have a peek at the arrangements? »
to peek / sneak a peek / take a peek at sb/sth = jeter un coup d'œil furtif à qn/qch → « She peeked at him through a crack in the wall → I took a peek at the list. »
No peeking! = On ne regarde pas!
peek over [+fence, wall] = jeter un coup d'œil par-dessus → « peek over the fence to see what your neighbour is doing. »

tantrum

colère
to throw a tantrum, to have a tantrum = piquer une colère. « He immediately threw a tantrum, screaming like a child. » « My son had a tantrum and banged his fist on the ground. »

hasten

accélérer, précipiter « This could well hasten the collapse of the country's industry. » « There is no question that Napoleon's doctors hastened his death. »
se hâter, s'empresser  « She hastened back to the house. » « He hastened to assure me that there was nothing to worry about. » « He hastened to say that nobody was hurt. »

daredevil

casse-cou. « She's a daredevil like her father. »

meek

doux, humble, docile « He was a meek, mild-mannered fellow. » « I'm not the meek and obedient type. » « Now... he is as meek as a mouse. »

to frolick

gambader « She loves to frolick in the meadows. »

unhinged

dérangé, détraqué « he's unhinged. »

to be in one's cups

être ivre « He talked too freely when, as was too often the case, he was in his cups. »

keystone

clé de voûte (=capstone). « Keeping inflation low is the keystone of their economic policy. »

moniker

surnom, petit nom, pseudo « "Bon-papa" was our french granddad's moniker. »

ISIS

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (état islamique, Daech)

stranded

bloqué, coincé « We were stranded in Paris. » « Jellyfish that were stranded on the beach » = des méduses échouées sur la plage.

git

con, connard « he's a git! » « Oh, shut your face, you racist git! »

Linus Torvalds (créateur de Linux) a appelé son logiciel "Git"... Il l'explique ainsi : "je ne suis qu'un sale égocentrique, donc j'appelle tous mes projets d'après ma propre personne. D'abord Linux, puis Git."

bombshell

obus 
to be a bombshell = faire l'effet d'une bombe « his resignation after thirteen years is a political bombshell. »
to drop a bombshell = annoncer une nouvelle qui fait l'effet d'une bombe « she dropped a bombshell: "I'm pregnant." »
coming as a bombshell = faisant l'effet d'une bombe.

bummer

what a bummer! = quelle poisse!  
a bummer of a day = une journée pourrie « I had a bummer of a day... »

to slay, slew, slain

tuer, assassiner. « St George slayed the dragon and rescued the princess. » « Men with courage do not slay dragons, they ride them... »

one-off

unique  
a one-off payment = un paiement en une seule fois.
it's a one-off = il n'y en a qu'un comme ça  
it's a one-off = ça ne va pas se reproduire they'll never beat us again, it was a one-off.

full-blown

véritable ; généralisé ; complet. A full-blown failure. « Since 2005, Ethiopia has degenerated into a full-blown dictatorship. »
full-blown AIDS : SIDA avéré.

cub

cub petit (d'un animal). Lion cub, fox cub, bear cub. « A lion and her cubs. »
cub reporter = journaliste stagiaire. « He had been a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star. »

without further ado

sans plus de cérémonie (=without more ado). « Without further ado, let's start. »
much ado about nothing = la montagne a accouché d'une souris.

mischievous

espiègle, coquin a mischievous smile She always was a mischievous child.
malveillant The Foreign Office dismissed the story as mischievous and false.

headscarf

foulard, voile. Islamic headscarf.

it's right up my alley

[slang] c'est mon truc ; c'est mon style ; c'est mon genre

nefarious

abominable, néfaste, malfaisant. « He is being manipulated for some nefarious purpose. »

nexus

lien, connexion « There's a nexus between women's empowerment and poverty reduction. »

to purloin

dérober « he must have managed to purloin a copy of the key. »

idle

désœuvré « A healthy child cannot be idle; he has to be doing something all day. » « It is not his nature to be idle. » « idle bureaucrats who spend the day reading newspapers. »
au chômage  « many steel workers are idle. »        
au repos « 6 per cent of the country's factories were idle. »        
vain, futile, oiseux « He hasn't time for idle gossip. »
bone idle = paresseux comme une couleuvre
to idle away one's time = passer son temps à ne rien faire.

stunning

éblouissant « You look stunning! » « Her dress was simply stunning. »
stupéfiant « a stunning victory in the general election. »

rosemary

romarin. « Fragrance of thyme and rosemary. »

boom shakalaka

onomatopée utilisée pour désigner le bruit d'un dunk au basket-ball ("boom" pour le dunk, et "shakalaka" pour la vibration du panneau).
fig.: wao! - j'ai gagné! - je t'ai eu ! « I shot the monster ! boom shakalaka ! »

to nut

éjaculer « I'm gonna nut! »

couchy

paresseux, douillet couchy life

cot

cotlit d'enfant ; lit de camp
cot death = mort subite du nourrisson

mogul

nabab « A real estate mogul. » « Every kid thinks they should be a rap mogul or a movie star. »

gut (+guts)

intestin « Raw food is absorbed more slowly in the gut. »        
ventre « His gut sagged out over his belt. »        
boyaux « The entire carcass, hide, guts and bones, was devoured. »
beer gut = bedaine
guts (fig.) : tripes, cran. To have guts. « These guys have guts. » « You talk a lot but I don't think you have the guts.  » It takes guts to stand up to her. «
»

to heighten

augmenter « The violence has heightened tension in the state. » « Teachers can help build students' vocabulary knowledge by heightening their interest in words. »
to heighten awareness = sensibiliser. « This association seeks to heighten awareness about animal rights. »

fistful

poignée (=handful) « We will not sell our soul for a fistful of dollars. » « Take a fistful of coins and run. »
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