Achievement, success, failure and misfourtune

  1. arriver dans un fauteuil (informal) = to romp home

    • literally translates to ‘to arrive in an armchair’

    • it means that you have had to exert no effort to do something

    • il a été réélu dans un fauteuil = he has romped home

  2. bien mener sa barque = to do alright for yourself

    • literally translates to ‘to steer one’s boat well’

    • beware of ‘changer sa barque’ meaning ‘to overdo it’

    • elle a bien mené sa barque = she does alright for herself

  3. les carottes sont cuites (informal) = its all over

    • literally translates to ‘the carrots are cooked’

    • on peut maintenant dire que pour l’équipe de France, les carottes sont cuites = we can now say it’s all over for the french team

  4. faire chou blanc (informal) = to draw a blank

    • literally translates to ‘to make white cabbage’

    • also see ‘faire ses choux gras de quelque chose’ meaning ‘to make the most of something’

    • l’enquête fait chou blanc = the investigation draws a blank

  5. être au creux de la vague = to have hit rock bottom/to be at the lowest ebb

    • literally translates to ‘to be at the trough of the wave’

    • un secteur du tourisme qui est déjà au creux de la vague = a tourist industry that has already hit rock bottom

  6. tirer son épingle du jeu = to extricate yourself from a tricky situation/to emerge unscathed

    • literally translates to ‘to pull one’s pin from the game’

    • refers to a traditional game where the aim was to remove your own pin back out of a heap

    • pour ceux qui réussissent à tirer leur épingle du jeu = for those who manage to emerge unscathed

  7. faire contre mauvais fortune bon cœur = to make the best of it

    • literally translates to ‘to show courage in the face of bad luck’

    • cœur in this case means courage and not heart

    • j’ai fait contre mauvaise fortune bon cœur = i made the best of it

  8. donner sa langue au chat = to give up

    • literally translates to ‘to give your tongue to the cat’

    • basically your tongue has no use to you because you have no answers

    • nous finissons toujours par donner notre langue au chat = we always give up in the end

  9. se faire rouler dans la farine (informal) = to be had

    • literally translates to ‘to be rolled in the flower’

    • also see ‘rouler quelqu’un dans la farine’ meaning ‘to dupe somebody’

    • pour acheter sur internet sans se faire rouler dans la farine = to buy online without being had

  10. passer comme une lettre à la poste (informal) = to go off without a hitch/to work perfectly

    • literally translates to ‘to go like a letter into the letterbox’

    • idea is that letters slide easily into a letterbox

    • elle est passée comme une lettre à la poste = it worked perfectly

  11. tirer les marrons du feu = to do the dirty work

    • literally translates to ‘to pull the chestnuts out of the fire’

    • encore une fois c’est nous qui allons tirer les marrons du feu = once again we’re the ones who’ll do the dirty work

  12. faire d’une pierre deux coups = to kill two birds with one stone

    • literally translates to ‘to make two hits with one stone’

    • le gouvernement fait d’une pierre deux coups = the government is killing two birds with one stone

  13. tuer la poule aux œufs d’or = to kill the goose that lays the golden egg

    • literally translates to ‘to kill the hen with the golden eggs’

    • on risque de tuer la poule aux œufs d’or = there’s a risk of killing the goose that lays the golden egg

  14. faire un tabac (informal) = to be a big hit/to be a roaring success

    • literally translates to ‘to make a noise’

    • tabac can mean tabacco, but is slang for hit/success

    • qui a fait un tabac en France = which was a big hit in france