Idiom Meaning Literal Meaning

à bon chat, bon rat¹ tit-for-tat to a good cat, a good rat

à chaque jour suffit sa peine each day as it comes each day's pain is sufficient for it (reference to the Biblical verse Matthew 6:34)

à cheval donné on ne regarde pas les dents¹ don't criticize gifts, accept them gratefully one does not look at the teeth of a horse that has been given.

amoureuse comme une chatte¹ very affectionate in love like a female cat

appeler un chat un chat¹ to tell it like it is; to call a spade a spade to call a cat a cat

arriver comme un chien dans un jeu de quilles¹ to turn up when least desired or expected to arrive like a dog at a bowling game

arriver comme un éléphant dans un jeu de quilles¹ to turn up at the absolute worst possible time, to have bad timing to arrive like an elephant in a bowling game

avaler des couleuvres to eat crow, i.e., to put up with humiliation to swallow grass snakes

avoir bon dos to be an easy scapegoat to have [a] good back

avoir d'autres chats à fouetter¹ to have other/better things to do, to have bigger fish to fry to have other cats to whip

avoir de la gueule¹ to be attractive to have [a] mouth; to be mouth-watering

avoir des lettres to be well read to have letters

avoir du chien¹ to be a very attractive woman to have "dogginess"

avoir l'air d'une poule qui a trouvé un couteau to look puzzled or baffled to look like a hen that has found a knife

avoir la tête dans le cul to be tired, phased out (e.g. after waking up) to have one's head up one's arse

avoir le cafard to have the blues, to be down in the dumps to have the cockroach

avoir le cœur sur la main to be generous, to give the shirt off one's back to have one's heart in one's hand

avoir le cul bordé de nouilles to be lucky to have an arse full of noodles

avoir le melon to be sure of oneself to have the melon

avoir les jetons to be scared, to have the jitters or the willies to hold the chips

avoir mangé du lion to have a tiger in one's tank, to have incredible energy to have eaten lion

avoir ses ours¹ to menstruate to have her bears

avoir un chat dans la gorge to have a frog in your throat to have a cat in one's throat

avoir un cheveu sur la langue to have a lisp to have a hair on one's tongue

avoir le cœur bien accroché to have nerves of steel to have one's heart firmly attached

avoir un poil dans la main to shy away from work, to avoid work at all costs to have a hair on one's hand (i.e., palm)

avoir une bonne gueule¹ to be friendly-looking to have a good mouth

avoir une faim de loup¹ to be famished to have a wolf's hunger

avoir une mémoire de lièvre¹ to have a poor memory to have a hare's memory

avoir une mémoire d'éléphant¹ to have a good memory to have an elephant's memory

avoir une nuit blanche to have a sleepless night to have a white night