It is often recommended that exam students try to include some idioms in their writing, to show that they have a good knowledge of the language they are learning. While this can be useful, it is a tip that should be used with caution as idioms, by their very nature, don’t translate directly, and so it is very easy to use them incorrectly, or to misunderstand when they would be appropriate.
Following on from the sausage-related German idioms found in our October blog, here are some French ones, all related to food.
1. Ça ne mange pas de pain. Direct translation: That does not eat any bread. Meaning: It doesn’t cost anything.
2. Garder une poire pour la soif. Direct translation: To keep a pear for the thirst. Meaning: To keep something back for a rainy day.
3. Je m’occupe de ma pomme. Direct translation: I take care of my apple. Meaning: I’m looking after number one (i.e. myself).
4. On ne peut pas avoir le beurre et l’argent du beurre. Direct translation: You cannot have the butter and the money for the butter. (Presumably to do with farmer’s wives making butter for the family to eat, or to sell for extra money). Meaning: You can’t have your cake and eat it.
5. N’en fait pas tout un fromage. Direct translation: Do not make a whole cheese out of it. Meaning: Don’t make such a fuss.
I hope you can have some fun with these. Which English idioms do you think would be the hardest to explain for the non-native speaker?