101 French Idioms

Intermediate This whimsical collection of colloquialisms entertains students while providing insight into French-language idioms, customs, and humor. Grouped according to theme — from "Our Animal Friends" to "Speaking About the Body" to "Food for Thought" — the idioms are illustrated with humorous cartoons that provide keys to understanding the literal and real meanings.

An idiom is the crossroads where language and culture meet. What does it mean, for instance, that when in English we'd say someone was "out of his tree," in French he would be "pedaling in the semolina"? 101 French Idioms collects this and other colorful turns of phrase into one whimsically illustrated volume. Each idiom comes with both literal and figurative English translations as well as a vivid cartoon; snippets of French narrative or dialogue use the term in context. The result is a humorous, fun, easy-to-remember introduction to French idioms, an excellent way to learn more about French as it's actually spoken.