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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French expression of the day: Tendre une perche

Although this might sound like you're about to take part in an athletics event, the phrase has a more straightforward and everyday meaning.

French expression of the day: Tendre une perche

Why do I need to know tendre une perche?

It's a fairly common phrase that will come up in everyday conversation, and in a workplace setting.

What does it mean?

Its literal translation is the rather athletic sounding 'throw a pole' or 'throw a line' but in fact it really means to give someone a chance, offer a helping hand or perhaps throw them a bone.

Laisse-moi lui tendre une perche, elle a vraiment du mal avec sa grammaire française – Let me help her out, she's really struggling with her French grammar.

Je sais qu'il est ennuyeux, mais tu dois lui tendre une perche – I know he's annoying, but you've got to give him a chance.

Permettez-moi simplement de tendre une perche au maire pour qu'il prenne la bonne décision – Allow me to simply offer the mayor a helping hand so that he may make the right decision.

Any other options?

If you want to be a bit more literal in what you are saying, you could use the phrase Donner une chance – to give a chance or Donner un coup de main – to give a helping hand.

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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French Word of the Day: Flipper

This French word does not have anything to do with marine mammals.

French Word of the Day: Flipper

Why do I need to know flipper?

Because this anglicism is used a bit differently in French than it would be in English.

What does it mean?

Flipper – roughly pronounced flea-pay – is a colloquial French term and these days it means to be upset or overly anxious. People often use it similarly to the English expression ‘to freak out’.

As you may have expected, the term is an anglicism, and it comes from the English word ‘to flip’. 

However, in French it does not mean to literally flip something over – you would use renverser for that. It comes from a different usage of the word ‘flip’, more in line with ‘losing one’s head’.

The word started being popular in France in the 1970s, and at that time it was almost exclusively used to describe the experience of ‘freaking out’ or having a bad trip after taking LSD or other hallucinogenic drugs, according to Le Figaro.

Over time, it started to refer to the period of depression many people experience after feelings of euphoria when high, as well as the anxiety that one might feel due to withdrawal. 

Nowadays, people mainly use it to refer to any irrational response. You can also call something flippant (shocking).

A more formal synonym for flipper might be paniquer.

And if you find yourself in an arcade, you may hear the word a few times, as flipper is also the French term for a pinball machine.

Use it like this

Arrête de flipper, on va être à l’heure.  – Stop freaking out, we’re going to be on time.

Les résultats des élections m’ont vraiment fait flipper. Mes amis n’ont pas été surpris pour autant. – The results of the election really freaked me out. My friends weren’t surprised though.

J’ai flippé en regardant le film d’horreur. – I freaked out when I was watching the horror movie.

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