French idiom
Posted by Cath from Beaumont 's Angels on November 28, 2003
In Reply to: French idiom posted by Michael on November 26, 2003
: : merci!
: I wasn't on this forum this week, I could have helped as I'm French, but the good answer is already there.
: For your info, there is a popular idiom using drowning: "se noyer dans un verre d'eau", which could be translated "to drown in a glass of water". It's a way to tell that somebody is easily overwhelmed by just a minor problem or a barely difficult situation. Also "noyé dans ses pensées" - "drowned in his thoughts", is about somebody momentarily withdrawn or daydreaming.
There 's also "noyer le poisson" = to drown the fish (which sounds a difficult things to do, doesn't it ?). it's a way of describing a situation when sb, apolitician for example, is trying not to answer a question. Would this be an equivalent of "beating around the bush " ?