I just
love idioms, they are a part of everyday life and often give you a real insight
into the target language culture. But how often do we think about their literal
and intended meanings? For instance, why do the English say that they have
“other fish to fry” rather than “have other things to do”? This is a great
opportunity to look at how sentences are built and to practise translation for
fun.
After
moving from the UK to France in late 2012, author Graham Clark started to use
native idioms and noticed that the French idioms were often very different to
their English counterparts and, in many cases, even more bizarre!
Instead
of having other fish to fry, the French have “other cats to whip” or “d’autres
chats à fouetter”, to mean they have other things to do. In the introduction of
the book, Graham issues a tongue-in-cheek warning whilst sharing his embarrassing
misuse of this expression in a comical attempt to fit in with the locals.
Inspired
by this story, Graham and his co-author Zubair Arshad, have carefully selected
French idioms, each with a memorable illustration aiming as a reminder of the
literal meaning of the phrase.
Each expression
is provided with its literal English translation, actual meanings and example sentence,
which makes it an interesting linguistic reference for students of all levels.
The pictures and translations also make it an entertaining read for
non-linguists who may have a connection with a French-speaking country.
My
favourite expressions from the book include “Se croire sorti de la cuisse de
Jupiter” to mean “To believe you came from Jupiter’s thigh (God’s Gift)”,
“Il n’y a pas le feu au lac” (Don’t
panic), “Se faire prendre pour un pigeon” (To be taken for a ride) and also
“Tomber dans les pommes”, meaning to “To fall in the apples (to
faint)”
Whatever
your mood, whether you are feeling upbeat or have the blues (avoir le cafard=
to have the cockroach), this
lovely little book is guaranteed to make you smile…
1 comment:
Other Cats to Whip! I like it. It must be like the American idiom, "I've got bigger fish to fry!" Not going to focus on the small fry. Thanks I'm going to get that book.
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