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In need of explanation
Message de fleuranh posté le 23-08-2005 à 11:08:30 (S | E | F | I)
I don't understand the meaning of these words or expressions :
-shepherd's pie crises
-downbeat
gurning face-ache
grisly oneupmanship
Can anyone help ?. Thanks
Message de fleuranh posté le 23-08-2005 à 11:08:30 (S | E | F | I)
I don't understand the meaning of these words or expressions :
-shepherd's pie crises
-downbeat
gurning face-ache
grisly oneupmanship
Can anyone help ?. Thanks
Réponse: In need of explanation de willy, postée le 23-08-2005 à 15:04:08 (S | E)
Hi !
Translating will always be uneasy without a context ! I'll have a try, though ! Hope it helps !
- downbeat (adjective ?) = depressed, gloomy, pessimistic, abattu.
- shepherd's pie = cottage pie : a baked dish of minced meat covered with mashed potato = hachis Parmentier. A crisis (plural : crises) = an unstable period, a crucial point in the course of something, a sudden change for better or worse.
- to gurn = to girn = to grimace, to pull grotesque faces.
- grisly = causing horror or dread = gruesome, horrible.
- one-upmanship : the practice of achieving or maintaining an advantage over others, often by slightly unscrupulous means = l'art de faire mieux que les autres, de renchérir, d'avoir la dragée haute, de ne pas s'en laisser conter.
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