The French expression “Appuyez sur le champignon !” literally means “Step on the mushroom!” Why would you tell someone to step on the mushroom? Because the accelerator pedal on early motor vehicles was originally shaped like a hemisphere or a dome. Kind of like a mushroom. So “Appuyez sur le champignon !” means “step on the gas!”, “speed up!”, “hurry up!” or simply “accelerate!”
What does the French idiom “Revenons à nos moutons !” mean? It means, “Let’s get back to the topic,” or “let’s get back on track.” It dates back to 1464, when it was first found in a comedy of the Late Middle Ages. Literally, however, it means, “Let’s come back to our sheep.” Learn more…
The French verb “prendre” means “to take,” but a bit confusingly it can also mean “to bring.” Its conjugation in the present tense is irregular, so it must be memorised. However, “prendre” forms the basis for compound verbs such as “comprendre” (to understand), “apprendre” (to learn), “reprendre” (to take back), “surprendre” (to surprise) and many…
“Vogue la galère” means “what will be, will be,” “come what may,” or “whatever happens, happens.” Literally the expression means something like “let the galley sail.” But the word “voguer” (to sail) originally meant to be pushed over the water by strength of oars. Galleys were ships powered by oarsmen and were used from antiquity…
Translating “the day before,” “tomorrow,” and “the day after” into French You may already know the French words “hier” (yesterday) and “demain” (tomorrow). French offers several expressions to convey concepts like “the day before,” “tomorrow,” and “the day after.” Each has its unique nuances depending on the context. 1. “The day before” The English phrase…
French is full of colorful expressions that don’t always have obvious meanings at first glance. One such expression is “avoir la dent dure”, which literally translates to “to have a hard tooth.” Its figurative meaning, however, is quite different. Meaning and Origin of the Expression The expression “avoir la dent dure” is used to describe…
“Brève de comptoir” means a very short and amusing story, or a story that is typical of a bistrot or cafe conversation. In French, “une brève” is a newsflash or news in brief. “Un comptoir” means a counter, like the top of a bar in a French bistrot or cafe. So a “brève de comptoir”…
