1. Les expressions idiomatiques françaises L’objectif: - to be able to understand and work with idioms in French

2. What is an idiom? With a partner, come up with a definition for the term ‘idiom’ with at least one example

3. Definition The official definition of the word ‘idiom’ is: – “A group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g., raining cats and dogs)” Who can explain the definition? What does it mean by ‘having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words’?

4. Quick competition With a partner, you will have 3 minutes to write as many idioms as you can think of in English. REMEMBER: In order for it to be an idiom, it must: * have a meaning which is not deducible from its individual words * be an expression which has nothing todo with its intended meaning

5. Common examples in English To have something up your sleeve To wear the trousers To be a piece of cake To have a chip on your shoulder To bite your tongue To break a leg To crack someone up To find your feet

6. Why are French idioms important to learn?

7. French idioms quiz Use the picture clues and translations to discover the equivalent in English

8. 1. AVOIR UN CHAT DANS LA GORGE To have a cat in the throat

9. 2. AVOIR D’AUTRES CHAT À FOUETTER To have other cats to whip

10. 3. PASSER UNE NUIT BLANCHE To spend a white night

11. 4. SE CREUSER LA TÊTE To dig in one’s head

12. 5. DONNER UN COUP DE FIL To give a cut of thread

13. 6. PARTIR VENTRE À TERRE To leave belly to the ground

14. 7. AVOIR LE CAFARD To have the cockroach

15. 8. TOMBER DANS LES POMMES To fall in the apples

16. 9. FAIRE LE PONT To make the bridge

17. 10. ÊTRE AUX ANGES To be with the angels

18. ANSWERS

19. 1. AVOIR UN CHAT DANS LA GORGE To have a cat in the throat To have a frog in one’s throat

20. 2. AVOIR D’AUTRES CHAT À FOUETTER To have other cats to whip To have other fish to fry

21. 3. PASSER UNE NUIT BLANCHE To spend a white night To have a sleepless night

22. 4. SE CREUSER LA TÊTE To dig in one’s head To pick one’s brain

23. 5. DONNER UN COUP DE FIL To give a cut of thread To give someone a ring

24. 6. PARTIR VENTRE À TERRE To leave belly to the ground To dash off

25. 7. AVOIR LE CAFARD To have the cockroach To be down in the dumps

26. 8. TOMBER DANS LES POMMES To fall in the apples To pass out

27. 9. FAIRE LE PONT To make the bridge To have a bank holiday

28. 10. ÊTRE AUX ANGES To be with the angels To be over the moon