Lexique des mots difficiles en anglais, Capes d'anglais, TOEFL, TOEIC

palatable

correct, acceptable « a more palatable and credible alternative » « The truth may not always be palatable. »

prépondérant « Conservation of the resource should be a paramount consideration » T« he paramount need for a peaceful solution. »
to be paramount = passer avant tout, être prépondérant « The interests of the child are paramount. »
of paramount importance = d'une importance capitale « Conserving present fish stocks is of paramount importance. »

parcel

colis He had a large brown paper parcel under his arm.

pawn

pion (échecs)
noms des pièces aux échecs :
king = roi
queen = dame
rook = tour
bishop = fou
knight = cavalier
check = échec, checkmate = échec et mat

payload

charge utile (=poids max. des marchandises ou des personnes qu'un véhicule peut transporter).

peacock

paon peacock feather

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. »

peeved

agacé « he sounded very peeved in his letter » « Susan was peeved that nobody had told her the news. »
to be peeved about sth = être agacé par qch « he is peeved about the recent criticism of his company. »

perky

guilleret , gai, effronté.
ne pas confondre avec perk (à-côté)

pervasive

envahissant, omniprésent, pénétrant. « Television is the strongest, most pervasive influence of our times. » « Sulphur has an unpleasant and pervasive smell. »

pesky

casse-pieds « This article will be introducing a couple of nifty tricks that I've seen scattered around the Internet. One of which is how to detect for the presence of those pesky carriage returns. »

pickle

cornichon
pétrin to be in a pickle = être dans le pétrin, être dans de beaux draps

picky

difficile

pigheaded

têtu comme une mule

pinkie

petit doigt (little finger) « He pushes his glasses up his nose with his pinkie. » « This piano exercise improves the extension between the ring finger and the pinky finger. »

pitch

(music) ton → « a guitar tuned up to a higher pitch »
[+excitement, intensity, success] degré → « it has reached such a pitch of success »
to reach a high pitch = monter en puissance → « tension in the area has reached a dangerously high pitch. »
to reach a new pitch of intensity [crisis] = atteindre un nouveau degré d'intensité
sales pitch = argumentaire m de vente → « the salesman launched into a long pitch about the advantages of time-share apartments. »
to pitch = lancer → « Simon pitched the empty bottle into the lake. → She pitched the ball as far as she could. »

pitfall

piège, chausse-trape → « The pitfalls of working abroad are numerous. »

pizza parlour

pizzeria

plc

S.A. (Public limited company)

plight

situation critique

plunder

pillage. « The authorities couldn't prevent the plundering of the ancient ruins. »
butin
to plunder = piller, voler « a band of thieves who became very rich plundering the tombs of the Egyptian pharaoh »

poaching

braconnage. Rhino poaching ; anti-poaching patrol. « Poaching wildlife will not only end up killing animals, but also ruin biodiversity. »

point-blank

(shoot) à bout portant => victims were tied up in chairs with their hands behind their backs before being shot point-blank in the head.
à brûle pourpoint => « McCain was asked point blank if he was breaking his promise » => « The Minister was asked point-blank if he intended to resign »
(refuse, deny) catégoriquement

pointless

inutile, vain → « violence is always pointless »
dénué de sens → « a pointless display of macho strength. »

poker face

visage impassible

pole

perche « using a pole, he pushed the boat away from the shore. »
pole jump = saut m à la perche.
pole dancing = danse érotique autour d'une barre métallique.
telegraph pole = poteau télégraphique

polygraph

détecteur de mensonges

pond

bassin « we've got a pond in our garden. »
étang « ponds attract migrating birds. »
a duck pond = une mare aux canards
lily pond = mare aux nénuphars
the pond = l'Atlantique

poop

crotte
to poop = faire caca, crotter

porpoise

marsouin

posh

chic « a posh hotel » « a posh dinner party » « I wouldn't have thought she had such posh friends. » « He sounded so posh on the phone. »
to talk posh = parler d'une manière affectée.

post haste

en toute hâte the pilot decided to land post haste.

pot

pot
herbe, shit

POTUS

President of the United States

praise

éloge(s), faire l'éloge de qn many others praised Sanford for taking a strong stand.

prank

farce, blague, plaisanterie « It was just another typical schoolboy prank. »

predicament

situation difficile

predicament

situation difficile

Preemptive war

guerre préventive

premises

locaux they're moving to new premises. »
business premises = locaux commerciaux
on the premises = sur place, sur les lieux the Director of the hostel lives on the premises. There is a kitchen on the premises. »

prick

1- piqûre → She felt a prick on her neck. 2- (=penis) bite 3- (=worthless person) connard → He's such a prick. >> to prick o.s. on sth se piquer avec qch → I've just pricked myself on a thorn → to prick one's finger → I've pricked my finger → she had just pricked her finger with the needle.

Mots difficiles en anglais