French Idioms and Proverbs 3
[The Italian equivalent is: _Chi va piano va sano e va lontano._
“Qui trop se hâte en cheminant
En beau chemin se fourvoye souvent.”
“On en va mieux quand on va doux.”--LA FONTAINE, _Les Cordeliers
de Catalogne_.]
_Il y allait du bonheur de ma famille_ = The happiness of my
family was at stake.
_Ce jeune homme ira loin_ = That young man will make his way in
the world, has a future before him.
_Au pis aller_ = Should the worst come to the worst.
_Un pis aller_ = A makeshift.
_Aller son petit bonhomme de chemin_ = To jog along quietly.
_Cela va tout seul_ = There is no difficulty in the way.
_Cela va sans dire_ = That is a matter of course; It stands to
reason.
_Cela va de soi_ = That follows naturally.
_Il ne reviendra pas, allez!_ = Depend upon it, he will not
return!
_Va pour mille francs!_ = Done! I’ll take £40.
_Aller cahin-caha_ } (lit.) To limp along.
_Aller clopin-clopant_ } (fig.) To rub along
quietly, neither very well nor very ill.
_Elle le fait aller_ = She makes him do what she likes.
_Le rouge va bien aux brunes_ = Red suits dark women well.
_Allons!_ = Come, now!
_Allons donc!_ = You are joking.
Allumer
“_Il n’est bois si vert qui ne s’allume_” (CLÉMENT MAROT) = There
is nothing so difficult that cannot be done in time.
Alors
_Alors comme alors_ = Wait till that happens, and then we will
see what is to be done.
Ambre
_Fin comme l’ambre_ = As sharp as a needle.
[This is said to have originated in the scent of ambergris, which
is of a subtle, penetrating nature.]
Amener
_Cette preuve est amenée de bien loin_ = That proof is very
far-fetched.
Ami
*_Qui prête à l’ami perd au double_ = “For loan oft loses both
itself and friend.”
[_Hamlet_, i. 3.]
*_On connaît les amis au besoin_ = A friend in need is a friend
indeed.
[Also: _C’est dans le malheur qu’on connaît ses amis._
“_Chacun se dit ami, mais fou qui s’y repose
Rien n’est plus commun que le nom
Rien n’est plus rare que la chose._”
LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, iv. 17.
“_Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur._”--ENNIUS.
“_Nihil homini amico est opportuno amicius._”--PLAUTUS.
“_Vulgare amici nomen, sed rara est fides._”--PHAEDRUS, iii. 9.
“_Les amis sont comme les parapluies, on ne les a jamais sous la
main quand il pleut._”--THÉODORE DE BANVILLE.
Un véritable ami est un bienfait des dieux.
Prosperity gains friends, adversity tries them.
Friends and mules fail us at hard passes.
In times of prosperity friends will be plenty,
In times of adversity not one in twenty.]
_Mieux vaut ami en voie que denier en courroie_ = A friend at
court is better than money.
_Il ne faut prendre de son ami tout ce qu’on peut_ = Friends are
like fiddle-strings, they must not be screwed too tight.
“_Les amis de l’heure présente
Ont la nature du melon,
Il en faut essayer cinquante
Avant qu’on rencontre un bon._”
CLAUDE MERMET (1550-1605).
= Trust not a new friend nor an old enemy; Acquaintances are
many, but friends are few.
Amitié
_Faites mes amitiés à votre frère_ = Remember me kindly to your
brother.
Amour
_Faites-le pour l’amour de moi_ = Do it for my sake.
_L’Amour force toutes les serrures_ = Love laughs at locksmiths.
_Vivre d’amour et d’eau fraîche_ (or, _claire_) = To live on
bread and cheese and kisses.
*_On revient toujours à ses premières amours_ = One always
returns to one’s first love; Who loves well, forgets ill.
[C. G. ÉTIENNE, _Joconde_, iii. 1.]
_Jamais l’amour ne se paye que par l’amour_ = Love can neither be
bought nor sold, its only price is love.
[“Amour au cœur me poind
Quand bien-aimé je suis,
Mais aimer je ne puis
Quand on ne m’aime point.
Chacun soit adverti
De faire comme moi,
Car d’aimer sans party
C’est un trop grand esmoy.”
CLÉMENT MAROT.
Lieb ohne Gegenlieb ist wie eine Frage ohne Antwort.]
_On dirait qu’il le fait pour l’amour du bon Dieu_ = He does it
with such bad grace that one would say he did it for conscience’
sake.
[“Qui que tu sois, voici ton maître,
Il l’est, le fut, ou le doit être.”
VOLTAIRE, _Inscription pour une statue de l’Amour dans les
Jardins de Maisons_.
“A l’Amour on résiste en vain;
Qui n’aima jamais aimera demain.”
DE BENSERADE, _L’Amour_, ed. 1690, p. 234.]
Amuser
_Amuser le tapis_ = To talk a great deal without coming to the
point; To talk time away.
_Ne vous amusez pas en route_ = Do not lose an instant on the way.
An
_Je m’en moque comme de l’an quarante_ = I don’t care a straw for
it.
[There was a superstition that the world would come to an end in
1040; after it had passed, this saying arose. The French also say
“Je m’en moque comme de Colin-tampon.” Colin-tampon is the name
given to the Swiss roll of the drum; and as the other soldiers
in the French army paid no attention to it out of jealousy and
esprit de corps, this saying arose. Another variant is “Je m’en
soucie autant qu’un poisson d’une pomme.”]
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