se tracasser « Don't fret, Mary. » to fret about/over sth : se tracasser au sujet de qch « Philip was fretting about his exams. »« I don't think people should fret over this. »
grumeleux « When the rice isn't cooked properly it goes lumpy. » bosselé « The barn floor is a little lumpy, but better than sleeping with 60 guys snoring and coughing. »
hold-up, casse, cambriolage. « Jewelry heists happen surprisingly often. What's less common is that the perpetrators get caught. »
to heist = faire un casse, un hold-up, braquer, cambrioler
scintillement, scintiller « At night, lights twinkle in distant villages. » [eyes] pétillement, pétiller « I noticed a twinkle in her eye at the suggestion. »
pousser, germer « If you leave onions long enough they will start to sprout. »« Is it safe to eat potatoes that have sprouted ? »« Chinese restaurants have sprouted everywhere. » Brussels sprouts = choux de Bruxelles.
pourri « The front bay window is rotten »« It's a rotten idea. »« what rotten weather! » a rotten apple = une pomme pourrie. Fig: une brebis galeuse. « Police corruption is not just a few rotten apples. » dégueulasse (fig.) That's a rotten thing to do = c'est dégueulasse de faire une chose pareille.
to feel rotten = se sentir honteux.
répandu.
to be rife [corruption, disease] = sévir, aller bon train « Unemployment is rife. »« Bribery and corruption were rife in the industry. » rumours are rife = de nombreuses rumeurs circulent.
rife with sth = en proie à qch « Politicians world is rife with jealousy. »« Hollywood soon became rife with rumors. »
avoir l'effet inverse que prévu « The President's tactics could backfire. »« The rehousing scheme backfired when refugees decided they did not want to move . » to backfire on sb = se retourner contre qn « His plan backfired on him. » pétarader « The car backfired. » backfire = retour de flamme.
au milieu de, parmi « a tiny bungalow amid clusters of trees. »« She was sitting amid a swarm of photographers. »« Children were changing classrooms amid laughter and shouts. »
essaim, nuée « She left amid a swarm of photographers. » se regrouper en masse, fourmiller, grouiller « They swarmed across the bridge. » to be swarming with people = grouiller de monde « The White House was swarming with security men. »
préparer des repas (pour)
satisfaire, pourvoir à « In a consumer society no effort is made to cater for the needs of the elderly. » s'adresser à, pourvoir aux besoins de « we can cater for all age groups in our summer schools. »
enchevêtrement « a tangle of wires. » to be in a tangle, to be tangled = être emmêlé « I've got my shoelaces in a bit of a tangle. » fig.: « a confused tangle of plots and subplots. »« My tax affairs were in a complete tangle » (= "sac de nœuds").
fig.: to be in a tangle = être en pleine confusion.
to tangle = s'emmêler « her hair tends to tangle. »
[+appointment] fixer provisoirement « The tour was pencilled in for the following March. » to pencil sb in (for appointment) compter sur, marquer qn provisoirement « I'll pencil you in for Friday. Phone me if you need to cancel. »
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
to yearn for sth = désirer vivement qch « He yearned for freedom. »« Couples who have only daughters and yearn for a son. » to yearn to do sth = désirer vivement de faire qch « I yearned to see him again. »
se faner.
fig.: dépérir, péricliter « the question now is whether the railways will flourish or wither. » to wither on the vine = pourrir sur l'arbre, être gâché. « the apples will wither on the vine if not picked soon »« Fred thinks he is withering on the vine because no one has hired him. »
maquette. « Mock-ups are used in the automotive device industry as part of the product development process. » « Mockups are used in software development to create user interfaces that show the end user what the software will look like. »
entraver, faire obstacle à, gêner.
« Further scientific research is hindered by lack of cash. »« His progress in the company has been hindered by his lack of self-confidence. »