We teach you 4 expressions spontaneously

[jrineakter]

Johan: Well, it's a fairly easy challenge for native speakers. What we're going to do today is a little exercise explaining expressions. So, we're going to take turns randomly choosing an expression from my book 301 expressions to speak like the French and the second person will be supposed to explain the expression and give a...



Gwendoline: Come on, let's go. Don't beat around the bush.

Johan: Okay. So, it's not super easy to explain, but it's an expression that we still use from time to time. To look for noon at 2 p.m. means to look too long for something that ultimately doesn't exist or to look for a complicated solution when the answer is obvious. It's more or less...

Gwendoline: That's it.

Johan: … that's how we can explain it. And in fact, the explanation can be guessed with the expression. Noon is one hour; 2 p.m. is another hour, it's 2 p.m. So, if it's noon or if it's 2 p.m. and I'm laos whatsapp number data looking for noon, well I'm looking for a solution that doesn't exist or I'm looking for an answer when there's an obvious answer. The obvious answer is that it's 2 p.m., so there's no point looking for noon.

An example… An example, we can say for example, the explanation… um… No. It’s complicated, the example, but it will come to me. Who… I have a good example. That’s it. Who do I ask to record a video with me? Well with Gwendoline, of course. There’s no point in looking for noon at 2 p.m. So, in this example, it means I don’t need to look for a complicated solution when the answer is obvious, it’s Gwendoline that I ask to accompany me.

Gwendoline: I'll give you the point.

Johan: Thanks. Great. My turn to randomly select, of course. An expression: there is not a cat.

Gwendoline: There isn't a soul.

Johan: Yes.

Gwendoline: That means there's no one there.

Johan: Yes, it's quite clear actually.

Gwendoline: It's simple.

Johan: There is no cat, that means there is no one. For example?

Gwendoline: In this store, there is not a single cat. That means that when I went to this store, there was no one.

Johan: Exactly. You have a point too. Note here that we have an optional liaison between "pas" and "un" because, moreover, you said "il n'y a pas un chat", and me, the first time, I tended to say "il n'y a pas_un chat". So, both are correct here. Between "pas" and "un", we have an optional liaison. Second try.

Gwendoline: It's an open secret.

Johan: Okay. So, "it's an open secret" means we think or consider that what we say is a secret, but in fact everyone knows it. So, it's not a secret, ultimately. An open secret is something that everyone knows but that we try to pass off as a secret or as something unknown or only known by a few people.

So, we could say here, if we are looking for an example: "Your new boss or the person who will replace your boss at work is Mr. Bertrand, but don't tell anyone, it has to stay between us." And then, our interlocutor can say: "But everyone knows it in the company. It's an open secret." That means everyone knows, but some people try to pass it off as a secret.

Gwendoline: Great.

Johan: Thanks! Last try. So, I'll take everything at the beginning. A bootlicker.

Gwendoline: A bootlicker. Well, very well-known, but how do you explain it? He's someone who likes to be seen and, therefore, he'll do everything to be seen. So, he might compliment someone or always do what that person likes. For example, I could say: "My colleague is a real bootlicker". That means that my colleague often compliments Johan or says good things about Johan all the time and, therefore, we call this person a bootlicker.

Johan: So, it's quite negative in the end. We also use it a bit at school. We can say that a student is a bootlicker to the teacher.

Gwendoline: Exactly.

Johan: Excellent. Listen, I'll give you the point too, Gwendoline. Thank you.

Gwendoline: Equality.

Johan: Perfect equality. Thank you for taking the time to explain a few expressions. It actually gives us… the fact of choosing or selecting expressions at random, it forces us to be completely spontaneous. That's a bit of an exercise in this video. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, let us know. You can leave a little "like", of course, and tell us in the comments if you want more videos like this. Thank you for watching. See you soon for new content in authentic French. Bye!