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Idioms (les idiotismes, m.) are expressions that don’t necessarily make sense literally, but have a well known meaning to native speakers. In order to be able to understand a language’s idioms, therefore, you can’t just know the exact definition of a word but you must also understand the social and cultural meaning behind that word.

It is also nearly impossible to perfectly translate.

Here are some common idiotismes that you may come across in French:

Appeler un chat un chat

Literal meaning: “To call a cat a cat”

Actual meaning: In English, we would use another idiomatic expression “calling a spade a spade.” This means that you call something out for what you see it as.

Example: “Je l’ai vu! Il faut appeler un chat un chat.” (I saw it! I’m just telling it as it is.)

Avoir la gueule de bois

Literal meaning: “To have a mouth of wood”

Actual meaning: This just means to have a hangover.

Example: Je suis sortie hier soir et je me suis levée ce matin avec une gueule de bois grave. (I went out last night and I woke up this morning with a serious hangover.)

Être à l’ouest

Literal meaning: “To be in the west”

Actual meaning: To be out of it or to be crazy/out of touch with reality.

Example: Il est complètement à l’ouest, ce mec! (This guy is totally out of it!)

Avoir un poil dans la main

Literal meaning: “To have a hair in the hand”

Actual meaning: To be very lazy, in fact so lazy that they watched a hair grow in the palm of their hand!

Example: Il dort tous les jours jusqu’à midi. Il a vraiment un poil dans la main. (He sleeps every day until noon. He’s really lazy!)

Donner un coup de main

Literal meaning: “To give a a hit of the hand”

Actual meaning: To give a helping hand. This idiom can be especially confusing because, to someone who is not native, it can sound almost threatening, although all it means is to help someone out!

Example: Elle est tellement gentille. Elle me donne toujours un coup de main sans que je demande. (She is so nice. She always helps me out even without asking).

Bonne Chance!

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

As the temperatures cool down, there is nothing I like more than cooking warm, hearty meals. That means it is time to break out one of our favorite recipes: Hachis Parmentier.

Hachis Parmentier is a well-known French comfort food, and is similar to the British shepherd’s pie. Even better, it is relatively easy to make–as well as absolutely delicious. Named after the eighteenth-century nutritionist and inventor Antoine-Augustin Parmentier (who famously pioneered potatoes as a staple food crop), Hachis Parmentier has become a staple of French cuisine.

Just get ready for some chopping, as hachis means “chopped” or “minced” in French.

Typically, the basis for the recipe is leftover beef stew. If you don’t have leftover stew, no problem! This recipe includes how to make beef stew from scratch to include in the casserole.

Ingredients

For the stew:

1 large onion

2 carrots

1 leek

2 garlic cloves

1.5 pounds of ground beef

pinch of thyme

pinch of rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

For the mashed potatoes:

2 lbs potatoes

1 cup milk

1/2 cup cream

2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper to taste

grated parmesan or gruyère to top

Instructions:

Peel and quarter potatoes, then boil them for 15 minutes or until tender. When done, mash the potatoes with the remaining ingredients (under the “mashed potatoes” section) and set aside. Chop carrots, onions, and leek. Saute the onions with garlic and ground beef with a little olive oil, then add carrots, leeks, thyme, and rosemary when meat is browned.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and continue to cook the mixture until the carrots are tender. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Have a glass of French Wine (drink sensibly).

While cooking, grease a casserole dish. Layer the ground beef mixture on the bottom of the pan, followed by the mashed potatoes. Cover the top of the mashed potatoes with grated cheese.

If you have additional beef and potatoes remaining, you can continue to layer them in the casserole dish. Put the casserole in the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes, or until the cheese is brown.

You can pair Hachis Parmentier with a simple green salad and a glass of red wine.

Bon Appetit!

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

"We can't thank Sharon and the team at Cle France enough for guiding us through the house buying process. 

As non french speakers, we would have been lost without them! 

We would definitely recommend Cle France to future house buyers as they made our process so smooth, nothing was too much trouble and Sharon was reassuring and professional throughout.  

We are now looking forward to enjoying our new French home!"

Rebecca and David.

These clients have just completed a purchase through Cle France, You can do the same, it is easy as we will guide YOU through the French Property Buying Process from the very start to completion and beyond!

And as several of our clients say "Follow your heart and make the move"!

Hi Sharon, 

Your Agent was extremely helpful and even though we only viewed one property it helped us to decide what we are looking for.

Lovely to chat to someone who knew the area well and could give us some advice on where to look and prices and how to organise any modifications to a property if needed.

Thank you again, Ian and Jane.

The search continues for our clients, we are confident we will find them the right property soon as we have thousands on our books and hundreds of newly mandated properties every week across France, it is easy when you search with Cle France, You can do the same, it is easy as we will guide YOU through the French Property Buying Process from the very start to completion and beyond!

And as several of our clients say "Follow your heart and make the move"!

Hi Sharon,

Very pleased with Cle France excellent job would thoroughly recommend you guys.

Very happy with the house.

Thanks Tony.

Tony purchased a house in the Poitou-Charentes, France through Cle France, You can do the same, it is easy as we will guide YOU through the French Property Buying Process from the very start to completion and beyond!

And as several of our clients say "Follow your heart and make the move"!