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

cue

signal
that's my cue to = c'est le signal pour que je... When she coughs, it's my cue to get up out of the chair.
on cue = au bon moment

gist

essentiel
the gist of his speech = l'essentiel de son discours
to give sb the gist of sth = résumer qch à qn en deux mots I missed his speech; can you give me the gist of what he said?

rule of thumb

méthode empirique, approximativement.
as a rule of thumb = en règle générale
by rule of thumb = à vue de nez

fang

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

to contend with sth

affronter qch, faire face It's bad enough when you have to contend with accidental fires
to contend for sth = se disputer qch three parties are contending for power.

ditch

laisser tomber, abandonner the soft drink company has ditched plans to use Madonna in its advertising
[= to dump] plaquer she's just ditched her boyfriend.

prim

[person] collet monté, guindé She was a very prim lady

to hump

(argot) baiser Marcel, stop humping the lamp! Teach your dog to hump your leg on command!

exténué, las she looked weary, a weary smile.
to be weary of = être las de
to weary of = se lasser de he's beginning to weary of sitting still.
x war-weary = las de la guerre ; world-weary = las de ce monde

hustler

prostitué(e) Hi Snoop. What'chu wanna be when you grow up? I wanna be a motherfuckin' hustler !

sibling

frère, sœur His siblings are mostly in their early twenties.
sibling rivalry = rivalité entre frères et sœurs Sibling rivalry often causes parents anxieties.

case in point

(to be a) case in point = être un bon exemple Lack of communication causes relationships to fail. Your parents' marriage is a case in point.

grudge

rancune a disabled man with a grudge against society
to bear a grudge = garder rancune I don't bear a grudge.
to bear a grudge against sb garder rancune à qn, en vouloir à qn He appears to have a grudge against certain players.

heebie jeebies

la frousse (=the creeps) this place gives me the heebie jeebies

stitch

point de suture I had five stitches.
point m de côté I can't run any more, I've got a stitch.
to be in stitches = être plié de rire Here's a book that will have you in stitches

out of the blue

à l'improviste, sans qu'on s'y attende Turner's resignation came out of the blue.

green-eyed monster

jalousie

offspring

progéniture

flip-flops

tongs

groovy

sensass the grooviest club in London.

to have a hard-on

bander, avoir la trique

far-fetched

[story, idea] tiré par les cheveux This all sounds very far-fetched

swab

(=cotton wool) tampon
(=sample) prélèvement

buck

mâle (d'un lapin, lièvre, daim etc)
dollar

doe

biche.
doe-eyed = aux yeux de biche. « A doe-eyed pinup princess with platinum blond curls. »
John/Jane Doe = M/Mme Dupont, M/Mme Tout-le-monde.

the fuzz

les flics

hag

(=ugly woman) vieille sorcière some old hag of an actress
(=nasty woman) chameau, harpie

wicked

[person] méchant
abject she described the shooting as a wicked attack.
a wicked, cruel man = un homme méchant et cruel
It was clear that he had done something wicked = il était clair qu'il avait fait quelque chose de mal.
[sense of humour] diabolique she had a wicked sense of humour.
a wicked grin = me lança un sourire diabolique.
[prices] monstrueux the prices are wicked in that shop.
[waste] épouvantable it's a wicked waste of resources.
(=great, cool) méchamment cool the film was wicked ! He's had this wicked new haircut.