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9,359 words — headwords with part of speech, pronunciation, and a plain-language definition.

avoir la mémoire courte
verb
to have a short memory, to forget things easily (especially when it's convenient to do so)
avoir la paix
verb
to have some peace and quiet
avoir la parole
verb
to have the floor
avoir la patate
verb
to feel great, to be in great form, to be full of beans, to feel one's oats
avoir la peau de
verb
to have someone's hide
avoir la peau dure
verb
to be thick-skinned, to be resilient
avoir la pelote à terre
verb
to be very tired
avoir la poisse
verb
to have chronic bad luck
avoir la pêche
verb
to feel great, to be in great form, to be full of beans; to have the sole fishing rights in a certain place
avoir la ref
verb
to get the reference, to know what is being referred to, to see what someone is talking about
avoir la science infuse
verb
to have innate knowledge, to know everything without having learnt it first, to be all-knowing, to be omniscient
avoir la tête ailleurs
verb
Used to say that someone's mind is elsewhere.
avoir la tête comme un seau
verb
to have a headache, to be hungover
avoir la tête dans le cul
verb
to be knackered; to feel like shit
avoir la tête dans les nuages
verb
to have one's head in the clouds
avoir la tête de l'emploi
verb
to look the part
avoir la tête qui tourne
verb
to be dizzy; to be light-headed
avoir la tête sur les épaules
verb
to have one's head screwed on
avoir la vie dure
verb
to die hard, to be well-ingrained, to have legs, to be difficult to get rid of
avoir le bourdon
verb
to be down in the dumps, to have the blues
avoir le bras long
verb
to be well-connected, to have influential connections or a large network of acquaintances, to be influential
avoir le béguin
verb
to have a crush
avoir le cafard
verb
to have the blues, to feel blue
avoir le compas dans l'œil
verb
to be able to size things up immediately, to be able to measure distances to the naked eye, to be able to judge size by sight, to have an accurate eye, to have a good eye for proportions
avoir le couteau entre les dents
verb
to be ready for a fight, to be in a fighting mood
avoir le couteau sous la gorge
verb
to be pressured, to be compelled to do something (to be in a situation in which one has no alternative course of action)
avoir le cuir dur
verb
to be pachydermic or pachydermatous; to be thick-skinned (insensitive to criticism)
avoir le cuir solide
verb
to be thick-skinned; to have a strong stomach (tough, impervious)
avoir le cuir épais
verb
to be thick-skinned (not to be easily offended)
avoir le cul bordé de nouilles
verb
to be extremely lucky
avoir le cul dans le beurre
verb
to have it easy, to be rolling in money, to be rolling in it (to be extremely well-off financially thanks to one's birth in a rich family)
avoir le cul entre deux chaises
verb
to fall between two stools, to have a foot in both camps, to be piggy in the middle, to be caught in the middle, to be sitting on the fence
avoir le cœur au bord des lèvres
verb
to feel nauseous, to feel like one is going to vomit
avoir le cœur bien accroché
verb
to have a strong stomach, to not be easily upset, to have nerves of steel, to have great composure
avoir le cœur gros
verb
to have a heavy heart, to be sad at heart
avoir le cœur sec
verb
to be hardhearted, to be heartless, to have no heart
avoir le cœur serré
verb
to have a lump in one's throat, to have a heavy heart, to be sad at heart
avoir le cœur sur la main
verb
to be open-handed, to be generous
avoir le dernier mot
verb
to have the last word
avoir le dessus
verb
to have the upper hand
avoir le diable au corps
verb
to have the devil in one, to be a real handful, to be very energetic, to be restless, to be running around frantically
avoir le feu au cul
verb
to be horny, to be hot to trot, to be gagging for it
avoir le feu aux fesses
verb
to be horny, to be hot to trot, to be gagging for it, to have ants in one's pants
avoir le gros cou
verb
to be arrogant, haughty, boastful
avoir le melon
verb
to be cocksure
avoir le moral dans les chaussettes
verb
to have one's heart in one's boots, to be really down, to be feeling very low, to be down in the dumps, to be in low spirits
avoir le moral en berne
verb
to be feeling low, to be down in the dumps, to be in low spirits
avoir le moral à zéro
verb
to be really down, to be feeling very low, to be down in the dumps, to be in low spirits
avoir le mot pour rire
verb
to make jokes; to be funny, to make people laugh
avoir le motton
verb
to be on the verge of tears
avoir le nez creux
verb
to have flair, to be intuitive
avoir le physique de l'emploi
verb
to look the part
avoir le pied marin
verb
to have sea legs; to be a good sailor
avoir le respire court et le discours égaré
phrase
to be dying
avoir le seum
verb
to be pissed off, to be cheesed off
avoir le tournis
verb
to be dizzy, to feel dizzy
avoir le vent en poupe
verb
to gather steam, to have wind at one's back; to gain popularity, to enjoy increasing success
avoir les boules
verb
to have the jitters, to have the willies, to have the heebie-jeebies (to be scared); to be pissed off, to be cheesed off
avoir les bouteilles
verb
to be pumped
avoir les cartes en main
verb
to hold the cards, to hold all the aces (to be in a strong position, possessing significant advantages over someone else); to have everything one needs to do something, to deal with a situation, a problem