Literal translation was my way of life when I arrived in the States, leading to interesting conversations.

The day I told a new acquaintance that I would love to accompany her to the mall but that I would probably only lick the shop windows, she glanced at me in a puzzled and slightly worried way.

Faire du Léche Vitrine/Lécher les Vitrines

To Lick the Shop Windows

To Do Some Window-Shopping

The French verb Lécher means to Lick but can also carry the notions of admiration and pleasure. For example, a polished work, especially artistic, will be léché in French. So it makes sense (at least to me and the French!) that lécher the shop windows, while admiring clothes, shoes, or anything in display, is the right expression to illustrate this leisurely pleasant activity.

Hands-on experiences present some challenges and mistakes can be embarrassing, yet they remain, in my opinion, the best it not only ways to learn.

Thanks to an invitation to the mall, I learned that Americans do window-shopping while the French lick the shop windows.

I’ll meet you halfway through the alphabet, bright and early tomorrow!

Today I am at loss and there are still fifteen letters to go!

I can’t find a literal English translation to this short and popular French expression. The English equivalent I offer is correct, although I’d love for you to help me find a smarter one, if it does exist.

The ties between North Africa and France sadly go back to the times of colonization. But with bad things come good things. Among them the great North African cuisine that plays a big part in the French culture. Anyone who ever ate a real couscous, a méchoui (lamb slowly cooked above an open fire pit) or the North African pastries that go so well with mint tea knows what I’m talking about.

In addition to cuisine, a few expressions have slipped from one culture to another.

KIF-KIF

IT’S ALL THE SAME

IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE

This expression comes from the Arab word Kif, which means Similar. Kif-Kif comes with a few variants but this one is the most widely used in France. Qu’en dites vous les français?

We say “Kif-Kif” in French when there are two ways to do something, two ways to go somewhere, when one approach to a problem or another won’t make any difference.

My husband and I sometimes use different routes to drive somewhere. Think Google maps versus a car GPS. If both routes are equivalent in terms of distance and time spent behind the wheel, we can agree that the two itineraries are Kif-Kif.

And if I had to pick between the two lillies above and decide which one is the prettiest, I would say, “C’est kif-kif.”

See you tomorrow for the letter du jour!

When I moved to the US, I immediately noticed that there were far less flower shops than in France and that American people I invited for dinner always volunteered to bring an appetizer or dessert, something that is rarely done in France, except with family members or close friends. On the other hand, French people always bring a bouquet of flowers or a bottle of wine, often both, when invited over, something less systematic from American people, at least in the early 1990s. So again, this is natural that one of the most popular French idiomatic expressions has a floral connotation.

JETER DES FLEURS (À QUELQU’UN OU À SOI MÊME)

TO THROW FLOWERS (TO SOMEONE OR TO ONESELF)

TO SHOWER (SOMEONE OR ONESELF) WITH COMPLIMENTS

The expression Jeter des Fleurs has evolved from Tresser des Couronnes (To Braid a Wreath), originating from the 11^th century. Wreaths made out of leaves and flowers symbolized dignity. By extension, offering such a wreath to someone would express a compliment. French people still use the older expression Tresser des Couronnes, although I think that Jeter des Fleurs is more widely said. Qu’en pensez-vous les français?

Jeter des Fleurs can also mean to brag if you “Throw Flowers to Yourself.”

For example, you can say “Je me jette des fleurs” if you are especially proud of one of your accomplishments.

You could also say, “Sans me jeter des fleurs,” which literally means, “Without throwing flowers to myself,” or “Ce n’est pas pour me jeter des fleurs,” which means, “It’s not to throw flowers to myself.”

These sentences appear to express humility, while in fact they shout self-satisfaction. A “but…” or “still,” are implied, reinforcing the complacency feeling.

Using a negation is frequent in French when we want to increase the meaning of a sentence.

My American-born children have a hard time to understand why the French say no when they mean yes. Some linguistic tricks are hard to explain when you’ve learned them at a young age.

Sixteen more letters to go! Thank you for keeping me company. See you tomorrow.

The French idiom-du-jour illustrates how languages represent so much of a culture and how challenging translation can be.

* Irony is frequent in the French language and the French excell in this domain (I notice when I go back)

* There is not always an American expression that will carry the French ironic connotation

INCESSAMMENT SOUS PEU

PRESENTLY SHORTLY

IN NEXT TO NO TIME

This idiom is built on a pleonasm since “Sous Peu” is almost a repetition of “Incessamment.” Both mean “In a short while.”

The addition of “Sous Peu” to “Incessamment” strengthens the idea of time without any specification in terms of duration.

In fact under some circumstances if one says, “I will come back “Incessamment Sous Peu,”” this can imply that one won’t come back at all.

Do you think of an American expresssion that can match this French expression?

P.S. I owe my husband the idea of the iWatch. Idiom and photo starting both with the letter I. Clever. Merci.

See you tomorrow!

Never a dull moment when you learn a foreign language. Each day brings its linguistic or cultural surprise. Who would have known that people could say the same thing in two radically different ways?

I didn’t.

Again, literal translations never match proper translations, but they can be entertaining.

HAUT LA MAIN

HAND UP

HANDS DOWN

Don’t you find it interesting that the French say Hand Up and the Americans Hands Down when the win is easy?

The French expression Haut la Main originates from the 16^th century. Initially the expression was: “To Have the High Hand on Something.” The fact that the hand was raised symbolized the power of authority.

Haut la Main is often used when the French talk about sport.

A match or game is won Haut la Main when the superiority of a team or a player allows a quick victory.

But it will also be said of an easy academic success from a bright student. He or she passed the final exam Haut la Main.

As always, thank you for stopping by, for commenting, and tolerating the unusual frequency of my posts during the month of April.

See you tomorrow.

By now you may have noticed that food is part of many popular French expressions. No doubt that food and perhaps more importantly the rituals around food matter in France. Today in the series of French Idioms from A to Z, a very common expression that I heard a lot, growing up in a French middle class family where nothing was wasted, even less food, and where saving was my parents’ way of life.

GARDER UNE POIRE POUR LA SOIF 

TO KEEP A PEAR FOR THE THIRST

TO KEEP OR TO SAVE FOR THE RAINY DAYS

This expression would go back to the 16^th century, using the juicy pear, a fruit able to quench the thirst, as a metaphor for the necessity to save for the unpredictable moments in life.

If you just started to read this series, I have to tell you that in my early days in the USA I always thought in French before speaking in English. Literal translation, I found out, rarely works.

So yes, I’ve said once to someone that it was a good idea to keep a pear for the thirst in the same way I told another that I had a cat in my throat (a frog restrospectively would have made more sense for the French!) and that I liked men in smokings (tuxedos).

See you tomorrow!

One said that French President Charles de Gaulle once proclaimed that France was a difficult country to govern and that it was in fact not surprising coming from a place that had more cheese than days in a year. So this is also not surprising that there is a French expression based on the French cheese reputation.

Oh and French people say Cheese when they snap a photo.

(EN) FAIRE TOUT UN FROMAGE

TO MAKE A WHOLE CHEESE

TO MAKE A STORM IN A TEACUP

My research about the origins of this typical French expression led me to too many possible options, none based on reliable sources. So I prefer not adding to the confusion.

Another popular French expression with the exact same meaning is: En Faire Tout Un Plat, which literally means To make a whole dish.

Despite making my mouth water at the thought of cheese, I tend to find the English expression more visual and better suited to the meaning than the French one.

What do you say?

See you tomorrow.

Hope you all spent a great weekend and are ready for a long week of French idioms. From Monday to Saturday, I will provide an expression, covering the alphabet from E to J. As always, thank you for your comments and for adding your own idioms to mine. I’m glad if you learn something you didn’t know, but I’m as glad to learn from you, too.

ENVOYER PAîTRE

TO SEND TO PASTURE, TO GRAZE

TO SEND SOMEONE PACKING AND ALSO THE INFAMOUS GO TO HELL

Go to Hell remains somehow controversial in the USA and yet widely used, especially in the movie industry.

Envoyer paître is a French expression from the middle of the 15^th century, when the verb paître had a religious connotation. People’s salvation was associated with God’s pastures where the soul was fed.

In later years, the expression evolved, based on the tradition to send cows to graze in far away pastures, and took then a negative meaning.

Envoyer paître simply means to get rid of someone in a sudden way.

There are, as often in the French language, some variants to the expression.

For the French here or anyone who speaks some French: envoyer aux pelotes, envoyer ballader, envoyer bouler. Vous en connaissez d’autres?

See you tomorrow!

France is well-known for its cheese and dairy products. It is not surprising that there is a French expression using the national bounty.

CHANGER DE CRÉMERIE

TO SWITCH DAIRY SHOP

TO TAKE ONE’S BUSINESS ELSEWHERE

The crémerie in late 19^th century France was an unpretentious neighborhood restaurant where simple food was served with coffee.

One said that late customers, asked to leave at closing time, would protest saying they would go to another crémerie.

Since late 20^th century this French expression is used in a commercial context. Unhappy customers take their business elsewhere.

A crémerie is not longer a small restaurant in contemporary France but the shop where dairy products (we’ve got a ton in France!) are sold.

P.S. As always if you know a similar expression either in French or American English, go ahead! I am very fond of idioms as they say so much about a culture and its people.