To ask what your favourite French words and expressions are?

[WellAlwaysHaveParis]

Very random AIBU, but I’d be interested to find out: what are your favourite French words and expressions? :)

I’m restarting a weekly post on French expressions for my blog on French language and culture, and I’ve run out of inspiration

Shameless plug alert.... if you’d like to know more about the blog or if you or anyone you know might like to contribute to it, please let me know on here or via private message :)

and are all up for grabs as prizes for the best words

My favourite phrases are very recent...

mecspliquer - mansplaining (Mec is slang for bloke/expliquer -explain)
les infaux - fake news (infos -news faux - false)

I like plays on words

Pas devant les enfants.

Finnegan

How about 'Bouge ton cul, vieille becque!'

I love:
Poser un lapin (to stand someone up)
j'en ai marre (I'm fed up/have had enough)
Ca me gonfle (it really annoys me)
Alors!
C'est nul ca! (it's rubbish)

Love both of these, @YaBasic!!!

peacypops, ‘poser un lapin à quelqu’un’ is also one of my favourite expressions. Wish we had something similar in English!

I can't believe no-one's said le soixante-neuf yet...

Oh la vache!
T'es chiant (I try and mutter this instead of ffs)

Link to blog please!

Going to try to use mecspliquer today! (hope it comes over, even with my 'orrible accent, and people don't just assume I'm getting m'expliquer wrong...)

On plays on words, I loved how they translated the Sorting Hat from Harry potter - le choixpeau. Genius

Mecspliquer et infaux are brilliant

Link to blog please!

@namastayinbed your wish is my command :)

frenchaffliction.com/

I haven’t posted on it for absolutely ages but I’m really keen to get back into it! It’s about all things French, so I write about anything and everything related to France and other French-speaking countries.

Please do let me know if you have any ideas about anything else you’d like to see on the blog or if you, or anyone you know, would like to contribute to it :)

Not heard infaux. Everyone I know just says c'est un fake news.

Oooooh, lovely thread! I like the punny ones!

How about

Il a avalé son parapluie

Meaning he's uptight.

Haven't read full thread but I like texting expressions, if anyone has got some.

Bah, dis donc!
On y va?
Soutien-gorge (bra, literally "throat supporter")
Hibou (owl) - lovely word

Don't understand a word of it but anything that comes out of Thierry Godard's mouth

When asked if he wanted some bread and butter this morning, my four year old DS said "Ben oui!" in a scary monster voice. Me and DH nearly wet ourselves laughing.

Also, not a verbal expression but I love that nose-twisting gesture French people do to indicate someone is drunk.

Quand même is my favourite.

Ha ha yes, l'enfer, c'est les autres (but why not ce sont?)

Because "c'est" refers to "l'enfer", not "les autres". In other words it's "hell is other people", not "hell are other people".

Isn't que será será Spanish?

I like à bon chat bon rat - two can play at that game.

Nice thread.

Comment ça flick? Ça flick pretty good. Used on Prince Edward Island, Canada

Encroyable
Pantoufle
Frappe la rue.

Faire des guilis-guilis! Using it a lot with my baby and I've even written a song about it!

Don't understand a word of it but anything that comes out of Thierry Godard's mouth

Haha @thugmansion he’s in Spiral, isn’t he?

Location de smoking

DW learnt Spanish at school, not French, and the first time we went to France she was puzzled why a shop full of men’s clothes should be a place where you could have a cigarette!

When I worked in France I loved the phrases "regarde ton assiette" or "regarde tes oignions" for mind your business. And "le grand legume" for the boss.

My favourite from school was always “Pamplemousse” - grapefruit