Mots difficiles en anglais

fad

engouement
a passing fad = un engouement passager « I don't believe environmental concern is a passing fad. »        
a fad for sth = un engouement pour qch « the current fad for all things Bollywood »       
to begin a fad for sth = lancer la mode de qch « they began a fad for slogan T-shirts that proclaimed everything about their wearer from "Babe" to "Whore" »

faggot

péj.: pédé (= fag.)

fancy

avoir envie de « do you fancy a cup of tea? » « I fancy an ice cream » « do you fancy going to see a movie sometime? »
plaire « he fancies her » = elle lui plaît.
de luxe, huppé, chic (=swiwh) « I have eaten in every fancy restaurant in this town » « they sent me to a fancy private school. »
fantaisie,imagination « is it fact or fancy? » Est-ce réel ou imaginaire? « He paints whatever his fancy suggests. »
to have a fancy (that) = avoir l'idée que « I have a slight fancy that the trophy will stay in Scotland this time. »
croire « he fancied that he saw a shadow pass close to the window. »
a passing fancy = un caprice « She did not suspect that his interest was just a passing fancy. »
a childhood fancy = un rêve d'enfance « It was just a childhood fancy » « I had a childhood fancy that I would one day be famous. »
to take a fancy to [+person] se prendre d'affection pour
to take sb's fancy, to catch sb's fancy = plaire à qn « He bought a vase that had taken his fancy. » « It took my fancy »= ça m'a plu.

fancy-free

libre ; libre comme l'air
to be fancy-free = être un coeur à prendre
to be footloose and fancy-free = être libre comme l'air

fang

[+dog, wolf] croc
[+snake] crochet the cobra sank its venomous fangs into his hand.

far-fetched

tiré par les cheveux. « This all sounds very far-fetched. »

far-flung

reculé « Far-flung holiday destinations. » « Astronomers have spotted the farthest-flung galaxy in the known universe, 13.2 billion light-years from Earth. »

far-right

extrême droite. Far-right party « Anti-racist campaigners are urging the Government to ban all far-Right groups. »

fasting

jeûne. « Intermittent fasting involves daily fasting for 16 hours. »

faucet

robinet. « She turned off the faucet and dried her hands. »
a dripping faucet (= a leaking faucet) = un robinet qui goutte. « A dripping faucet in a room wastes between 1,000 and 2,000 litres of water a year. »

feisty

fougueux  « at 70 years old, she was as feisty as ever. »

ferris wheel

ferris wheelgrande roue. George Washington Gale Ferris conçut la première grande roue, dévoilée au public à l'occasion de l'Exposition universelle de 1893 à Chicago.

ferris wheel

ferris wheelgrande roue (=big wheel). « Are you ready to go on the Ferris wheel? »

feud

dispute  a feud between the prime minister and his chancellor   
a family feud
to feud (with) = se disputer, se quereller their families had feuded since their daughters quarrelled two years ago.
blood feud =vendetta

fiddle

violon to play the fiddle
to play second fiddle to sb = jouer les seconds rôles à côté de qn « Harrison had always played second fiddle to Lennon and McCartney in the Beatles »        
combine, escroquerie tax fiddle = fraude fiscale
to fiddle with = tripoter « She fiddled nervously with the buttons of her cardigan »

fiendish

diabolique, démoniaque (propre et fig.)
abominable, atroce
fiendishly = diaboliquement. laughing fiendishly
fiendishly difficult = abominablement difficile

fin

palme (de plongée) (= swimfin ou flipper). « You should have your own mask, fins and snorkel for the scuba diving lessons. »

fir

sapin. « There was a big fir tree with stars and garlands. »

fishy

au poisson, de poisson « this will help to eliminate any fishy odours. »
suspect, louche (=dodgy)
there's something fishy = il y a quelque chose de louche ; il y a anguille sous roche

fistful

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

flagship

vaisseau amiral. « The flagship of a fleet is usually the best-equipped, and most famous. »
fig.: produit phare, fleuron, emblème. « This product is the flagship of the brand. » « This bill is the flagship of the government's legislative programme. »

flake

faux jeton, tire-au-flanc : « John called in sick to work again today. He's such a flake. » « Mary said she would do the research for our project, but it's been a week and she hasn't done a thing. She's such a flake. »

flaw

défaut → This study has serious flaws → The main flaw in his character is his short temper
design flaw = défaut de conception → A design flaw with the aircraft caused the crash.

flip-flops

tongs

flip-flops

tongs (sandales)

flirt

flirter → she's been flirting with him all evening
dragueur(-euse) → « she's a terrible flirt. »

flirty

dragueur → She is amazingly flirty and sensual → She had an appealing flirty smile.
[clothes] sexy → The skirts were knee-skimming and flirty.

flock

[+sheep] troupeau
[+birds] vol
[+people] foule
to flock to sth = venir en masse à qch

flotsam

morceaux d'épave
flotsam and jetsam morceaux d'épave et détritus
the flotsam and jetsam of society = les laissés-pour-compte de la société

fluke

coup de veine The discovery was something of a fluke
by fluke = par un coup de chance extraordinaire By sheer fluke, one of the shipowner's employees was in the city.

foghorn

corne de brume
a voice like a foghorn = une voix tonitruante / de stentor

footage

enregistrement, séquences → exclusive footage from this year's festival → the court was shown video footage from security cameras .

footloose

libre « People that are single tend to be more footloose. » « Being footloose has always exhilarated us. »
footloose and fancy free = libre comme l'air.

for a rainy day

to save sth for a rainy day = garder une poire pour la soif (épargner pour les jours difficiles à venir).
« I'll put the rest in the bank for a rainy day » (=je vais mettre le reste à la banque histoire de garder une poire pour la soif).

foray

incursion « to make a foray into enemy territory. »
to make a foray into sth = s'essayer à qch « One of the Mac mini's raisons d'être was to provide a gateway for PC users interested in the Mac to make an inexpensive foray onto the platform. »

foreclosure

saisie « after a foreclosure, »« homeowners are sometimes left with absolutely nothing »

foreground

premier plan → in the foreground au premier plan → this is another worry that has come to the foreground in recent years.
to put sth in the foreground (=make a priority) mettre qch en avant → issues that were placed in the foreground

forehead

front « High forehead, thin lips, clean-shaven. »

forensic

légal ; légiste

forensics

médecine légale (=forensic science)

forgery

contrefaçon, falsification, faux.
to prosecute somebody for forgery = poursuivre quelqu'un pour faux (et usage de faux)

formulaic

convenu → « his paintings are contrived and formulaic. »

fortitude

courage, force d'âme « he suffered a long series of illnesses with tremendous dignity and fortitude. »

foul

infect, immonde, affreux « The weather was foul » « What a foul smell! » « He was in a foul mood » « I've had a really foul day at work. »
[language] ordurier « I won't have you using such foul language in my house! »
by fair means or foul = par n'importe quel moyen.
faute (de jeu). To commit a foul on sb. « He was sent off for fouling the goalkeeper. »
to cry foul = crier à l'injustice « Tourists cry foul as euro pushes up cost of holidays. »
to foul = polluer, souiller « Two oil spills near Los Angeles have fouled the ocean. »
to foul up = bloquer « It is raining again this morning which will foul up traffic. »
foul-mouthed = grossier « that fat, racist, foul-mouth friend of yours. »
foul play = jeu irrégulier « Players were warned twice for foul play. » Meurtre « Foul play is not suspected. »
foul-smelling = puant
foul-tasting = infect
foul-tempered = d'un caractère de cochon
foul-up = cafouillage « A series of technical foul-ups delayed the launch of the new product. »
professional foul = faute délibérée.

foundation cream

fond de teint

fountain pen

stylo-plume

frailty

faiblesse « a triumph of will over human frailty. » « the frailties of human nature. »
fragilité « She died after a long period of increasing frailty. » 

frantic

(=out of one's mind) affolé(e)  
A bird had been locked in and was by now quite frantic   
to go frantic  être dans tous ses états 
I was going frantic.  J'étais dans tous mes états. 
to be frantic with worry  être fou d'inquiétude 
We were frantic with worry.   
  (=hectic) frénétique 
... a frantic week of high-level discussions.   
  [efforts, activity] frénétique 
Ambulancemen made frantic efforts to revive him   
  (=desperate) 
[need, desire] effréné(e)

freak

bête curieuse. « A woman was then considered a freak if she put her career first. »
maniaque → health freak = obsédé de la santé ; fitness freak = sportif acharné
insolite. « He broke his leg in a freak accident, playing golf. »
to go crazy, péter un plomb, péter un câble. « I freaked when I first found out. »
to freak out = flipper, stresser « I remember the first time I went onstage. I freaked out completely. »
to freak sb out = déboussoler qn « I think our music freaks people out sometimes... »

freaky

zarbi (=weird). « I bumped into that freaky friend of yours. »

freckle

tache de rousseur
freckled = plein de taches de rousseur

frolic

joie, gaieté (=merriment) « a place of fun and frolic. »
to frolic = folâtrer, batifoler « Tourists sunbathe and frolic in the ocean. »
ébats (sexuels)  « Claire and Sebastian were frolicing in the bushes. »

from the get go

from the start, since the begining (=since the get go)

full-blown

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

fussy

[person] tatillon
[style, decoration] qui manque de simplicité
I'm not fussy = ça m'est égal

fuzzy

flou « the picture came out fuzzy »
crépu « he's the one with fuzzy red hair »
confus « he had little patience for fuzzy ideas. »

FYI

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