Mots difficiles en anglais

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.

offspring

progéniture

flip-flops

tongs

groovy

sensass the grooviest club in London.

to have a hard-on

bander, avoir la trique

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.

maze

labyrinthe, dédale a maze of streets a maze of corridors a maze of rules.

loony

timbré, cinglé They all thought I was a loony.

despise

mépriser I despise him. She despises her work.

dope

dope (drogue) addicted to dope
andouille (péj.) You dope!

squish

écraser

grasshopper

sauterelle

ludicrous

[situation, idea, claim] ridicule, absurde

poop

crotte
to poop = faire caca, crotter

moisture

(in soil, air) humidité When the soil is dry, more moisture is lost from the plant.
(on glass) buée

mean

cool, super. « That was a mean dinner! »

steed

coursier, destrier. Fiona: "where would a knight be without his noble steed!?"

to cramp sb's style

priver qn de ses moyens He thinks marriage would cramp his style.

shrewd

perspicace, judicieux You're a very shrewd guy ! I think you've made a shrewd investment there.

wild boar

sanglier

shotgun wedding

mariage précipité (souvent dû au fait que la mariée est enceinte)

suck-up

lèche-cul

deadbeat

bon à rien

tacky

[sunglasses, outfit, jewellery, decor] vulgaire
kitsch
bon marché, toc
[show, programme] médiocre
[person] ringard(e)

picky

difficile

stunt

cascade « Steve McQueen did his own stunts. »
stuntman = cascadeur « Buster Keaton : the greatest stuntman of all time? »

to foil

[plan, attempt] déjouer, contrecarrer

turnout

(at meeting)  assistance
(in election)  participation

bondage

esclavage, servage

blistering

[heat, summer] torride
[sun] brûlant
[remark, attack] cinglant, foudroyant

snag

inconvénient, difficulté. A police clampdown on car thieves hit a snag when villains stole one of their cars...
to hit a snag = rencontrer une difficulté => Sudanese peace talks have hit a new snag after rebels refused to discuss garrisoning their forces

plight

situation critique

predicament

situation difficile

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

stampede

ruée, débandade => « 10 people were killed in a stampede »

watermark

filigrane

mob

foule

to drag one's feet

trainer les pieds, faire preuve de mauvaise volonté => Though marriage was his idea, he began to drag his feet when wedding preparations began.

red herring

that's a red herring = c'est pour brouiller les pistes.

bonanza

aubaine (=windfall) « This is a real bonanza for you, isn't it? »
boom « a sales bonanza for computer makers. »

freckle

tache de rousseur
freckled = plein de taches de rousseur

hassles

(=fuss) histoires « Make that call right now get squared away, no hassles no call backs no telemarketing »
to hassle = enquiquiner
hassle-free : [experience, holiday, journey] peinard

to beat about the bush

tourner autour du pot
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