Mots difficiles en anglais

pervasive

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

to relent

plier, céder. « Finally her father relented and allowed her to marry. » « The government will not relent in its pursuit of members of terrorist organizations. »

→ relentless(ly) = implacable(ment). « The relentless heat of the desert. » « They fought relentlessly for their rights. »

no-brainer

simple comme bonjour. « It's a no-brainer »

heist

hold-up, casse, braquage, cambriolage. Bank heist ; heist movie.
to heist : faire un casse ; faire un hold-up ; braquer.

to run aground

to run aground(s')échouer. « Many small boats run aground or sink as a result of bad weather. » « Poland's plans to privatise its industry could run aground for lack of domestic funds. »

fasting

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

porpoise

porpoisemarsouin

to shrug

hausser les épaules. To shrug one's shoulders. « Atlas Shrugged. »
haussement d'épaules. A shrug of the shoulders.

leotard

justaucorps

bobcat

lynx

moisture

humidité. « When the soil is dry, more moisture is lost from the plant. »
buée (=mist)

tear duct

canal lacrymal

nudge

to nudge : donner un (petit) coup de coude à → « The girls grinned and nudged each other. »
a nudge : un coup de pouce → « All he needed was a nudge. »
to give sb a nudge in the right direction = pousser doucement qn dans la bonne direction.

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. »

to conceal

cacher, dissimuler. « The scarf concealed a revolver. » « His "heart attack" was in fact a concealed murder. »

maverick

non-conformiste « Yes, he was a maverick with a healthy disregard for authority. » « A maverick group of scientists, who oppose the prevailing medical opinion on the disease. »

to scoop up

ramasser « A giant floating trash collector will try to scoop up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  You can scoop up everything in these shops : clothes, books, housewares, toys, records... » « I scooped my son up in my arms. »

odds and ends

bric-à-brac, bricoles

kudos

gloire, prestige, lauriers. « Kudos to you if you solved that problem ! » « You almost got it perfectly, kudos ! »
to gain kudos = gagner en prestige « He gained a lot of kudos when he was chosen to play Hamlet. »

brook

brookruisseau (=stream) « little brooks make great rivers. »

behold

apercevoir, voir, observer « There isn't a landscape in the world that is more lovely to behold. »
voici « Behold, here it is. »

beholder = observateur. « Beauty is in eye of the beholder » (la beauté est affaire de goût)

super-duper

super, superchouette. « She was a super-duper assistant. »

awe

respect mêlé de crainte, admiration. « He is remembered with affection and awe by the students. »
to be in awe of sb/sth = être en admiration devant qn/qch. « She is in awe of his learning. »
to be awed = être impressionné, être effrayé « I am awed by David's courage. »
awestruck : frappé d'admiration, fasciné « Every time I visit I am awestruck by the immense potential of this region and its people. »

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. »

despicable

méprisable, ignoble, odieux, abject « he was truly despicable, without one single redeeming feature. »

wino

ivrogne, poivrot

whim

caprice « She whent there on a whim. »

cripple

boiteux (=lame), infirme
handicaper, paralyser (sens propre et figuré) « Several painful falls that crippled him. » « Much of the developing world is crippled by debts. »

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 »

magpie

pie (oiseau). "The Thieving Magpie" (la pie voleuse) est un opéra de Rossini, ayant récemment servi à la pub pour Sony Bravia (explosion de couleurs).

general practitioner (=GP)

médecin généraliste, médecin traitant « GPs are inadequately trained to manage the growing demand for cancer care » «  It is important for you to register with a GP so you can access health services. »

guinea pig

cochon d'Inde, cobaye « the doctor used himself as a human guinea pig to perfect the treatment. »

gash

entaille, balafre « she had a large gash in her thigh. »        
crevasse « a triangular gash in the mountainside. »
déchirure « there was a gash in the fabric where the cat had scratched it. »
arg.: vagin (par allus. à fente) ; fille

squalid

sordide « a sad, squalid town »

to scold

sermonner, gronder « Mother scolded me this morning for being rude. »

a tad

un tantinet. It was a tad confusing = c'était un tantinet déroutant. a tad more expensive = un poil plus cher  

yuck

beurk

ale

bière
brown ale = bière brune 
light ale = bière blonde
 half pint of ale = demi

overhaul

révision « The pistons no longer fitted and a complete overhaul was needed. »
remaniement  « The overhaul of the employment strategy is necessary. »
remanier « The legal system needs to be overhauled. »

ablaze

en feu, en flamme. « A region ablaze with ethnic violence. »
to be ablaze = flamber. « The tents were ablaze. »
ablaze with light = resplendissant de lumière. « The chamber was ablaze with light. »
to be ablaze with colour = offrir une débauche de couleurs « In spring, the valleys are ablaze with colour. »

thigh

cuisse
"thigh gap" = espace entre les cuisses d'une personne debout, prisé dans le monde de la mode.

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

exhilarated

euphorique. To feel exhilarated.

to exhilarate = euphoriser, exalter, émoustiller. « Being footloose has always exhilarated us. »

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.

to scavenge

faire les poubelles, fouiller, récupérer. « Children often scavenge in the dump for anything valuable. » « Vultures scavenge for food in the savannah. » « After the market, some people scavenge for unsold fruits and vegetables. »

scavenger : charognard ; éboueur.

seasoned

expérimenté, aguerri, chevronné. A seasoned professional. A seasoned observer.
assaisonné. « The dishes are highly seasoned with salt and pepper. »
séché → « Make sure the timber is well seasoned. »

mugshot

mugshotphotographie d'identité judiciaire

on all fours

à quatre pattes (= on hands and knees)

wee

tout petit → « A wee innocent child. » « In the wee (small) hours of the morning » (au petit matin).
to wee, to have a wee = faire pipi

homemaker

femme au foyer. « His father is a government official and his mother is a homemaker. »
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