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 amusing expressions like this one when you book an online lesson with Fast French.
“Faire son miel de” is a French saying whose literal translation is “to make one’s honey from.” It means to make a profit from, or to take advantage of a situation to earn a lot of money. It comes from the activity of bees, who are known not only for their industriousness and hard work, but…
In French, there is no direct equivalent to the English present continuous (“I am eating”) or past continuous (“I was eating”). Instead, French speakers use the construction “être en train de” + infinitive to emphasize that an action is (or was) in progress. This guide will cover how to use it in both the present…
Meaning The primary meaning of the French verb “dessiner” is “to draw,” “to design,” “to map out,” “to outline,” “to depict” or even “to portray.” For example, “Il a su dessiner un tableau vivant de la scène.” Conjugation “Dessiner” is a regular “-er” verb, meaning it follows the typical conjugation patterns for this type of…
“Faire la bombe” means to have a big feast or a big party with feasting. Nothing to do with bombs! So why does it literally mean “to make the bomb”? Because it is a deformation of the phrase “faire bombance,” which means “to have a feast.” So there is no connection with explosive devices at…
The word “la mouche” means “the fly” in French. Here is a summary of French idiomatic expressions that use “mouche.” Faire mouche Literal meaning: To hit the flyFigurative meaning: To hit the target exactly; to be spot onOrigin: From archery or shooting. La mouche was the black center of the target.Example: Son commentaire a fait…
“Faire grève” or “faire la grève” is a French idiom that means “to strike,” or “to go on strike.” This is when workers purposely stop working in their attempt to achieve higher wages and/or better conditions from their employers. The word “grève” in the expression comes from the word for gravel (gravier) which in turn came…
