Mots difficiles en anglais

thrifty

économe  « my mother taught me to be thrifty »  « thrifty shoppers »
thrift = économie.

theft

vol
attempted theft = tentative de vol
anti-theft device, theft prevention device = antivol
aggravated theft = vol qualifié

to vanquish

vaincre « a happy ending is only possible because the hero has first vanquished the dragons. » « With knowledge and wisdom, evil could be vanquished on this earth. »
the vanquished = les vaincus

low-angle shot

contre-plongée « pictures of trees in low angle shot. » high angle shot = plongée

bespoke

fait sur commande, sur mesure « the company also offers a bespoke service of whatever combination you like. »

stepmother

belle-mère

chill

froid « he turned on the fire to take the chill from the air. »        
coup de froid « she caught a bad chill. »        
frisson « the sound sent a chill down my spine. »        

to chill = refroidir, faire frissonner « the marble floor was beginning to chill me. » « There was a coldness in her that chilled him. »
to be chilled to the bone = être transi de froid

to chill out = se relaxer

stale

rassis, éventé
blasé « He was stale and tired. »
[idée, concept] éculé, rebattu, dépassé
moribond « the story of a stale marriage swapped for a grand passion. »
[haleine] fétide
stale link (web) = lien brisé, périmé

heinous

odieux, atroce. Heinous crime = crime odieux

daft

idiot « don't be daft »! « that's a daft question. »        
to be daft about sb = être toqué de qn  
to be daft about sth = être mordu de qch « he's daft about football. »     
« daft as a brush » = con comme la lune.

moot point

point discutable « whether he was serious is a moot point » = qu'il ait été sérieux est un point discutable.  
to be mooted = être évoqué « they mooted the idea of a partnership with the local authorities » « the idea was mooted of establishing a family solidarity fund. »

fad

engouement
a passing fad = un engouement passager « I don't believe environmental concern is a passing fad. »        
a fad for sth = un engouement pour qch « the current fad for all things Bollywood »       
to begin a fad for sth = lancer la mode de qch « they began a fad for slogan T-shirts that proclaimed everything about their wearer from "Babe" to "Whore" »

diaper (=nappy)

couche (de bébé) « How can I get my husband to change stinky diapers? »
to diaper = langer
disposable diaper/nappy = couche jetable

fountain pen

stylo-plume

wrath

colère, courroux
wrath day = jour du Jugement dernier

to muse

méditer, songer, réfléchir « let's take some time to muse about our new life »  « "I wonder what happened to him", she mused »
musing = songerie

to unwind

dérouler « I was unwinding my bandage. »
se détendre « reading is a good way to unwind. »

it's a breeze

c'est un jeu d'enfant, c'est du gâteau « No technical knowledge is required, it's a breeze to add or edit your content. »

to delve into sth

fouiller dans qch « She delved into her rucksack and pulled out a folder. » « She delved into her mother's past. »

stamina

endurance, vigueur « players also need great stamina as they have been known to cover more than six kilometres in a single match. »

to tinker with sth

bricoler qch (=to fiddle around with) « he loves tinkering with the engine. »
to tinker with a problem = bricoler des solutions « Instead of the Government admitting its error, it just tinkered with the problem. »  

as easy as pie

bête comme chou, simple comme bonjour
it's easy as pie = c'est du gâteau

peeved

agacé « he sounded very peeved in his letter » « Susan was peeved that nobody had told her the news. »  
to be peeved about sth = être agacé par qch « he is peeved about the recent criticism of his company. »

sluggish

lent, mou « I feel very sluggish today »
stagnant [business, sales]

advocate

défenseur, partisan  « a leading advocate of free enterprise. »
to play devil's advocate : se faire avocat du diable.
to advocate : recommander, prôner  « he advocated the creation of a peace-keeping force. »

truancy

absentéisme (scolaire) « schools need to reduce levels of truancy. »

to graze

paître, brouter « Sheep may safely graze. »
frôler, effleurer A« bullet grazed the back of his head. »
écorcher « I grazed my legs as he pulled me up. »

to beseech

implorer, supplier, prier « I heard men crying out, beseeching Allah to save them. »

borough

municipalité, arrondissement « the New York City borough of Queens »

Hop-o'-My-Thumb

Le Petit Poucet

no-frills

low cost. « No-frills airlines, no-frills holiday. »

tainted

avarié, pollué, contaminé « her breath was tainted with alcohol » « blood tainted with the AIDS and hepatitis viruses »
entaché de « the report was tainted with racism. »

unrequited love

amour non partagé, à sens unique « his unrequited love for a married woman. »

booyah

exclamation de joie « I won the bet! You owe me $3000! Booyah!! »

HTH

"Hope That Helps" (abréviation utilisée sur les forums)

loose end

détail inexpliqué « there are some annoying loose ends in the plot. » 
to tie up loose ends = mettre au point les derniers détails, régler les derniers détails « there are lots of loose ends to tie up in this case. »
to be at (a) loose end(s) = ne pas trop savoir quoi faire. « adolescents are most likely to get into trouble when they're at loose ends. »

to be on the loose

être en liberté « a murderer was on the loose in the surrounding hills ». « A man-eating lion is on the loose somewhere in England. »

kin

famille   « she has gone to live with her husband's kin. »        
kith and kin = parents et amis « his loyalty, he said, was first of all to his own kith and kin. »
next of kin = parent le plus proche « we have notified their next of kin (=nous avons avisé leurs proches).   »
"next of kin" (on forms) = "nom et prénom de votre plus proche parent".

weed

mauvaise herbe « the garden's full of weeds. »
désherber « mum was busy weeding the garden. »
marijuana « I'm spending the evening at home with some weed. »

aisle

allée centrale, nef
to walk down the aisle = se marier « He was in no hurry to walk down the aisle. »

to outsmart

se montrer plus malin que, se montrer plus futé que « she used her wits to outsmart the enemy. »
to try to outsmart (someone) = jouer au plus fin (= to have a battle of wits)

wit (=wittiness)

esprit « the girl laughed at his wit » = La fille riait de ses traits d'esprits.
with great wit = avec beaucoup d'esprit  
witty man = homme d'esprit   
witty woman = femme d'esprit  
to have the wit to do sth = avoir la présence d'esprit de faire qch « No one had had the wit to bring a bottle-opener. »
to wit = à savoir « we speak in a language they don't know: to wit, English. » «
»


wits = tête (fig.) to use one's wits to do sth = se servir de sa tête pour faire qch.
to have one's wits about one = avoir toute sa tête.        
to keep one's wits about one = garder la tête sur les épaules « she'd better learn to keep her wits about her. »
to pit one's wits against sb = rivaliser d'esprit avec qn  
to be at one's wits' end = ne plus savoir que faire « I'm at my wits' end. »

half-wit = idiot, imbécile

witty = spirituel, plein d'esprit.

witty remark = witticism = mot d'esprit, bon mot

stove

cuisinière « place the pan on top of the stove »
gas stove, electric stove = cuisinière à gaz / électrique  
camping stove = réchaud de camping

bend

virage « a road full of dangerous bends » = une route pleine de virages dangereux.
to go into a bend, to take a bend = prendre un virage  
blind bend = virage sans visibilité.

scavenger

charognard
éboueur

thrift

économie
thrift shop = petite boutique d'articles d'occasion gérée au profit d'œuvres charitables

to beckon

attirer.« All the attractions of the city beckon » = toutes les attractions de la ville nous attirent.
« Fame and fortune beckoned... » La gloire et la fortune (nous) attiraient...
to beckon to sb = faire signe à qn. « He beckoned to the waiter. »
to beckon sb over = faire signe de venir à qn « he beckoned her over » = il lui fit signe de venir. 

hue

teinte (couleur)
hue and cry = tollé « There would be a hue and cry if Robbie Williams forgot his songs. »

to moisturize

hydrater
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