[+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. »
le principe KISS, "Keep it Simple, Stupid", préconise de rechercher la simplicité en évitant toute complexité non nécessaire. Ce principe est appliqué dans le développement logiciel, le journalisme, la photographie, l'ingénierie, l'aviation, etc.
1- prendre d'assaut → They decided to storm the building.
2- to storm in : entrer en trombe
to storm out : sortir en trombe → after the argument, he stormed out of the house.
chanceler, vaciller, hésiter, fléchir
« his steps faltered » = son pas se fit plus hésitant.
« From that moment onwards he never faltered in his resolve. »
en retard « they're half an hour overdue ». « the rent is three weeks overdue. » to be overdue = se faire attendre « reform of these laws is overdue. » to be long overdue = n'avoir que trop tardé « that change was long overdue. »
porté disparu (au combat). « Several soldiers are still missing in action. » fig.: manquer à l'appel. « The federal government is missing in action in an area where it has clear responsibilities. »
impulsion, élan « the momentum of change in the second half of the century. » to gather momentum : s'accélérer, prendre de la vitesse, gagner du terrain « the lobbying for action gathered momentum this weekend. »
petites rue, ruelle « a narrow back street of Port-au-Prince. » quartier pauvres ou mal famés « the back streets of Berlin. » backstreet abortion = avortement clandestin
backstreet of desire = bas-fonds du désir.
1- pousser → he dragged her out to the door and shoved her into the street → she shoved as hard as she could.
2- to shove sb out of the way : écarter qn en le poussant
3- fourrer → We'll shove an extra paragraph in here → he shoved a cloth in my hand. Il m'a fourré un torchon dans la main.
4- to give sb/sth a shove : pousser qn/qch → the car won't start. Can you give it a shove ?
petit doigt (little finger) « He pushes his glasses up his nose with his pinkie. »« This piano exercise improves the extension between the ring finger and the pinky finger. »
bois. Building timber = bois de construction « Most of the region's building timber is imported from the south. » arbres « Most of his land is planted with timber. »
gouttière « Above the gutter the tiles were loose. » caniveau « The motorbike lay on its side in the gutter. »« to end up in the gutter » = finir dans le caniveau.
gutter press, gutter newspaper = presse de bas étage, journal à scandale
gutter-child = gamin des rues.