Structures idiomatiques anglaises liées à la tête I

En français comme en anglais, nous utilisons beaucoup d'expressions au cours de notre discussion: "il pleut des cordes", "il fait un froid de canard"... Si on les traduit littéralement dans une autre langue, on ne comprend plus rien. Apprendre l'anglais, c'est aussi apprendre ces petites expressions qui forment des blocs, et que tous les anglophones comprennent.

Structures idiomatiques

EXPRESSION 1: "to put one's foot in one's mouth"
-> TRADUCTION LITTERALE: "mettre son pied dans sa bouche"
-> VRAIE SIGNIFICATION: s'attirer des problèmes en disant quelque chose d'embarrassant ou de choquant
-> EXEMPLE: My colleague put his foot in his mouth when he told everyone that he didn't like the new manager.
Mon collègue s'est mis dans un sacré pétrin quand il a dit à tout le monde qu'il n'aimait pas le nouveau chef.

EXPRESSION 2: "armed to the teeth"
-> TRADUCTION LITTERALE: "armé jusqu'aux dents"
-> VRAIE SIGNIFICATION: nous avons la même expression en français: armé jusqu'aux dents = équipé d'un grand nombre d'armes
-> EXEMPLE: The robbers were armed to the teeth when they robbed the bank.
Les voleurs étaient armés jusqu'aux dents quand ils ont cambriolé la banque.

EXPRESSION 3: "to pick the brains of"
-> TRADUCTION LITTERALE: "prendre le cerveau de"
-> VRAIE SIGNIFICATION: demander conseil auprès d'un expert
-> EXEMPLE: We picked the brains of the official who was sent to talk about the pollution problem.
Nous avons écouté les conseils du représentant qui avait été envoyé pour parler du problème de la pollution.

EXPRESSION 4: "to button one's lip"
-> TRADUCTION LITTERALE: "boutonner / fermer ses lèvres"
-> VRAIE SIGNIFICATION: rester calme, arrêter de parler / garder un secret
-> EXEMPLE: Please button your lip so that we can hear what the speaker is saying.
SVP, taisez-vous pour que nous puissions entendre ce que l'intervenant dit.

EXPRESSION 5: "to have rocks in one's head"
-> TRADUCTION LITTERALE: "avoir des rochers dans sa tête"
-> VRAIE SIGNIFICATION: être stupide, avoir de mauvais jugements
-> EXEMPLE: He must have rocks in his head if he thinks that I am going to lend him any more money.
Il doit être débile s'il pense que je vais lui prêter plus d'argent.

> TEST : Complétez ces phrases à l'aide d'une des cinq expressions ci-dessus.

A) "Tommy has__________________________. I've never seen such a stupid boy. He always does crazy things."

B) "... and remember: ________________________. Everything I said to you is strictly confidential. It's a secret."

C) "The mayor and his team are going to explain everything to us. Let's listen to him and __________________his advisors."

D) "On Wednesday, two men - ____________________________ - came into our bank and killed our boss. We were not able to do anything.

E) "What a bad boyfriend! Tommy _____________________________ when he said to Clara that he didn't want to meet her parents."

> REPONSES

A) "Tommy has rocks in his head. I've never seen such a stupid boy. He always does crazy things."

B) "... and remember: button your lip. Everything I said to you is strictly confidential. It's a secret."

C) "The mayor and his team are going to explain everything to us. Let's listen to him and pick the brain of his advisors."

D) "On Wednesday, two men - armed to the teeth - came into our bank and killed our boss. We were not able to do anything.

E) "What a bad boyfriend! Tommy put his foot in his mouth when he said to Clara that he didn't want to meet her parents."