Mots difficiles en anglais

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... »

boast

to boast = se vanter (=to brag) « Stop boasting! »
to boast about sth = se vanter de qch. « Carol boasted about her costume. »
to boast of/that = se vanter de « He boasted of being involved in the arms theft. » « He boasted that he was someone great. »    
vantardise « This isn't meant as a boast » « her boast of being a great lover. »

to brag

se vanter (=to boast) « He'll probably go around bragging to his friends. »
to brag about sth = se vanter de qch « I didn't brag about the salary. »

apace

rapidement « My teacher helped me moving along apace. » « Negotiations were continuing apace. »

mahogany

acajou

to busk

jouer d'un instrument ou chanter dans la rue « They spent their free time in Glasgow busking in Argyle Street. »

to mesmerize

ensorceler, hypnotiser « He mesmerized the crowd. »
mesmerizing = ensorcelant, hypnotisant « She has a mesmerising smile. »

to supercede

remplacer, supplanter « Steam locomotives were superseded by diesel. »

prank

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

carb

glucide (=carbohydrate) « I'd rather get my carbs from eating a banana than an energy bar. »        
a low-carb diet = un régime pauvre en glucides.

shea

karité.
shea butter : beurre de karité

nitwit

imbécile, nigaud, crétin « He's just a nitwit » « What nitwits we are! » « Texas, often depicted as a land of gun-toting nitwits... »

ditty

chansonnette. « I wrote a little ditty that I would like to play for you. »

freaky

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

wow factor

capacité à surprendre ; effet spectaculaire. « A small prop that gives you a big wow factor. »

sled

luge, traîneau
to sled = faire de la luge « Winter is a great season for outdoor activities, such as sledding and skating. »

Easter

Pâques « She always sends me a card at Easter. »
happy Easter! = joyeuses Pâques!
Easter day = le jour de Pâques
Easter egg = œuf de Pâques

hackneyed

banal, vu et revu, rebattu  « the hackneyed approach of the Conservative government is no longer working. »
hackneyed expression = cliché

inception

création, commencement, lancement « I've been in the company since its inception. »   
at the inception of = aux débuts de « At the inception of the internet. »

shabby

miteux « a shabby house with worn carpeting on the stairs. »
moche « what a shabby way to treat your friends ! »

paramount

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. »

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. »

navel

nombril (=belly button).

catwalk

passerelle
podium (de défilé de mode) « models pouting on the catwalk ».
a catwalk show = un défilé de mode

to kick the bucket

mourir, casser sa pipe, rendre l'âme « The old horse finally kicked the bucket » « I think my sewing machine has kicked the bucket. »

bowl

bol, coupe. « a bowl of soup. »
Super Bowl = "la super coupe"
"« Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth! »" = "Allez, et versez sur la terre les sept coupes de la colère de Dieu."

palatable

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

to shove

pousser He dragged her out to the door and shoved her into the street She shoved as hard as she could.   
to shove sb out of the way =  écarter qn en le poussant
fourrer We'll shove an extra paragraph in here. Shove your hands in your pockets
to give sb/sth a shove = pousser qn/qch The car won't start. Can you give it a shove?

comb

peigne, peigner. A hair comb. « I must comb my hair. »

makeshift

de fortune « 20,000 refugees are living in makeshift shelters. »

to deride

tourner en dérision, railler « Many MPs deride his management skills. » « She used to deride me for my geekery. »

blade of grass

brin d'herbe

mo fo

mother fucker

liquorice

réglisse

thug

voyou « a good thug is a dead thug. »

to be a good all-rounder

être bon en tout. « He's really talented, a good all-rounder. » « Our mini-oven is the perfect all-rounder. »

to purport

prétendre « This is a fictional drama that does not purport to be a documentary. »
se vouloir « A society that purports to be modern and civilized. »
purported = soi disant  « Many of the purported benefits of legalised gambling are illusory. »

silver lining

aspect positif de qqch.
every cloud has a silver lining = à qqch malheur est bon.
to have a silver lining = avoir de bons côtés.

ex-con

ancien taulard « They hired an ex-con to try and kill the CEO ».

cult

culte, secte « The cult leader was convicted of sex crimes. » « The Beatles became the heroes of a world-wide cult. »

upmost

fig.: le plus haut, supérieur. « It is the upmost importance that our children get the best education we can provide for them. »

far-right

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

blight

fléau → to be a blight on sth. « This discriminatory policy has really been a blight on America. »
urban blight = dégradation urbaine
to blight = gâcher, anéantir. « Families whose lives were blighted by unemployment. »

conundrum

énigme, devinette, casse-tête. « The conundrum was what would happen if the program had succeeded. »

guesstimate

estimer au jugé ; approximation ; pifomètre. « It's a little hard to guesstimate... » « Would you have a guesstimate as to the cost? »

watered-down

coupé à l'eau ; édulcoré. A watered-down compromise. « Alok Sharma fights back tears as watered-down Cop26 deal is agreed. »

to shatter

briser, faire voler en éclats, anéantir. « I shattered the glass. » « My dreams have been shattered. » « My whole world just shattered around me. »

to mix and match

to mix and matchassortir, assortiment. « You can mix and match colours and sizes. »

big bad wolf

grand méchant loup. « It is unfair and unwise to see America as the big bad wolf. »

runny nose

nez qui coule. « To have a runny nose. » « My nose is running. »
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