Wierd sayings

[russotto]

Originally Posted by bargalunan

Pierre qui roule n’amasse pas mousse” :
“Pierre qui roule ” : “A rolling stone ”
“ n’amasse pas mousse ” : “isn’t covered with moss ”
(no link with Mick Jagger and Kate Moss)
means we never become rich if we too often change of country, job….

Kate Moss, no. But Mick Jagger, yes. The Rolling Stones were named after the English equivalent ("A rolling stone gathers no moss"). Only gathering moss is usually considered a bad thing, so the English expression has the opposite meaning, at least in the US.

[bargalunan]

connard = bastard

A lot of good french expressions : in French only, but very good.

"jeter le bébé avec l'eau du bain " : "Throwing the baby with the bath"
Losing the main thing.

"aller dans le mur" : "to go in the wall"
to go in the wrong way

"Avoir la tête dans le cul (dans le gaz, dans le pâté) " :
"to have one's head in the ass (gas, pâté)"
"Ne pas avoir les yeux en face des trous" :
"to have not one's eyes in front of the holes"
means : to be bad awake

“avoir les dents longues” : “to have long teeth”
to be ambitious

“Avoir le cul bordé de nouilles” :
“To have one’s ass surrounded by noodles”
to have chance (very popular)

“Ça m'en touche une sans faire bouger l'autre” :
“It touches me one without moving the other”
I don’t care (very popular)

“Comme papa dans maman” : “Like daddy in mummy”
easy thing to do (very popular)

”Con (comme un balai, comme la lune) ” :
”To be an ass like a broom (to sweep), like the moon”
To be an ass

“Avoir un balai dans le cul” : “To have a broom in the ass”
To be rigid, sexually frozen

“Être à voile et à vapeur ” : “To be sailed and steamed”
to be bisexual

“ Fumer la moquette ” : “To smoke the carpet” :
to be under drug addiction

“Il n'y a pas photo” : “There’s no photo” :
There’s no doubt

“Lèche-cul” : “To lick someone’s ass” :
to play up to

“Péter les plombs / un plomb ” : “To break a fuse” :
To become mad

“Pisser dans un violon” : “To pee in a violin” :
To do useless things

“Tiré par les cheveux” : “Pulled by the hair” :
intricate

“Casser les pieds / les couilles” : “To break feet / balls” :
to bug someone

“Avoir le feu au cul ! ” : “To have ass in fire” :
to be in a hurry / to be sexually obsessed

“Avoir un poil dans la main” : “To have hair in one’s hand ” :
To be lazy

“Avoir d'autres chats à fouetter ” : “To have other cats to whip ” :
To have something else to do

“Aéroport à mouches ” : “fly (insect) airport ” :
Bald head

[Sundae]

Wow - there really are a lot of similarities in colloquial language - although I suppose I should expect that with older phrases....

The only unusual phrase I remember in French is "Ciel mon mari", which literally means sky my husband (I think) and is an exclamation of surprise.... no idea why though.

[Cyclefrance]

Amazing stuff Bargalunan! - we deal with some Paris-based vegoil traders and will be having some great fun dropping the odd phrase in now and again!

[bargalunan]

"Ciel mon mari" is traditionally used in comic theatre when the woman is in bed with her lover. When her husband arrives at the door she cries "Ciel mon mari" (sky my husband) and quickly hide her lover in the wardrobe or on the balcony...

Have great fun Cyclefrance ! Just be careful when using popular expression.

There's also "argot" (slang), "verlan" (back slang) cf The Alternative French Dictionary
verlan = "à l'envers (backward) / à lanver = verlan"
meuf (say mef) = femme = woman
keum (say kem) = mec = guy
laisse béton = laisse tomber = Let it drop!
In French suburbs, teenagers speak in verlan, it's quite difficult to understand them but they are very inventive.

[limey]

"“Quand on veut noyer son chien, on dit qu’il a la rage”
“When we want to drown one’s dog, we say he’s got the rage”
means : when we want Saddam’s oil, we say he’s got mass murder weapons."

[Tonchi]

Originally Posted by bargalunan

French popular wisdom : fog in November, Christmas in December !

We say: Fog in November, you're in Fresno

[capnhowdy]

I'll be a monkey's uncle

[footfootfoot]

A Japanese friend told me a saying about cheapskates:
"He's got short arms and deep pockets"
Then there is also: nsfw
http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing

[wolf]

Wow. That's even better than Skritch's Multilingual Swear List.

[mrnoodle]

bargalunan, i've been searching for french slang for YEARS, but could only find old outdated sayings. thanks!

[bargalunan]

As plthijinx said in "word association" :

"Je me fais chier" / "Tu me fais chier" : "I/You make me shit"
I'm bored to death / You're boring me to death (very common)

about cheapskates :

"Avoir des oursins dans les poches" : "To have sea-urchins in the pockets"
"Avoir les doigts crochus" : "To have hooked fingers"

About http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/french.htm
One third of them are not well known or very intricate. Meanwhile most of them are real insults. Be careful !

Very common examples :
"Va te faire enculer" : "Go get fucked up the ass"
" conneries " : " bullshit "
" Emmerdeur " : " shitwit "
" Salaud / Con / Connard / Enculé " : " bastard "
" Pute / putain / Conne / Connasse / Enculée " : " whore "
" Trou du cul " : " Asshole "
" J'en ai rien à foutre " : " I don't give a fuck " : I don’t care

I rather like :
“On t'a bercé trop près du mur " : " Was your cradle rocked too close to the wall? "
" Enculer les mouches" : " to fuck flies " : to complicate


But :
“Faire l'amour" : "To have sex with"
“Ce n’est pas tes affaires " : "It’s not your business"
“Ne tente pas le diable!" : "Don’t tempt the devil" : Don't push your luck!
“Ça craint!" : " It sucks! "
aren’t swears

etc…

An author is famous in France for writing good detective stories with a lot of very inventive slang (most of time about sex) : Frédéric Dard / San Antonio
San Antonio
(Clic Oeuvres and see some covers... )

Originally Posted by mrnoodle

bargalunan, i've been searching for french slang for YEARS, but could only find old outdated sayings. thanks!

A gift especially for you. I'm sure you will appreciate see

[footfootfoot]

How could I forget:
"He/She could talk the hind leg off a donkey"

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Originally Posted by barefoot serpent

I've always wondered what the H stood for... Holy?


I'm having kittens here waiting to find out...

Anybody want a kitten?

Surely H for Hexametrous. Roll the phrase off your tongue: "Je-sus Hexametrous Christ!" Now doesn't that just knock your hearers back on their heels when delivered right?

I'd take the "Ciel!" as an interjection. I'd write it "Ciel! Mon mari!"

[Sundae]

How about "You couldn't make it up....."
Really?
Because I'm pretty sure I could