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3,347 words — headwords with part of speech, pronunciation, and a plain-language definition.

l'entendre de cette oreille: to agree, to be in agreement
l'erreur est humaine: to err is human
l'espace d'un instant: for a moment, just for a minute
l'espace de: in the space of, in the span of
l'espoir fait vivre: we all live in hope
l'exception confirme la règle: the exception proves the rule
l'habit ne fait pas le moine: you can't judge a book by its cover (it is not possible nor advisable to judge things by external appearances alone)
l'herbe est toujours plus verte ailleurs: the grass is always greener on the other side
l'herbe est toujours plus verte dans le pré du voisin: the grass is always greener on the other side
l'heure est grave: we are at a critical time, the situation is serious
l'homme est un loup pour l'homme: man is a wolf to man
l'honneur est sauf: someone's honor is intact
l'occasion fait le larron: opportunity makes the thief
l'ogre de Corse: Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see le, ogre, de, Corse.; Napoleon Bonaparte
l'oisiveté est la mère de tous les vices: idle hands are the devil's workshop (one who is idle will likely come to do evil)
l'un: one; some
l'un après l'autre: one after the other, one after another
l'un dans l'autre: all in all, all things considered
l'un l'autre: each other, one another
l'union fait la force: many hands make light work; united we stand, divided we fall; there is strength in numbers
l'échapper belle: to have a narrow escape, to have a close call, to dodge a bullet
la: her, it (direct object)
la: la, the note 'A'
la balle est dans le camp de quelqu'un: the ball is in someone's court
la bave du crapaud n'atteint pas la blanche colombe: sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me
la belle affaire: big deal!, so what?
la bonne blague: that's a laugh! yeah, right! give me a break!
la boucler: to shut up (refrain from speech)
la bémol majeur: A-flat major
la carotte et le bâton: carrot and stick
la chatte à ta mère: fuck you, go fuck yourself, eat shit
la coupe est pleine: that's the last straw; enough is enough
la critique est aisée mais l'art est difficile: it's easy to criticize; those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it
la croix et la bannière: painful and strenuous experience; hassle; tall order
la curiosité est un vilain défaut: curiosity killed the cat
la faim fait sortir le loup du bois: desperate times call for desperate measures; needs must
la faire: to fool
la faire longue: to stay long, to stay for long; to stay up late; to party all night, to party until all hours
la faute à pas de chance: it's nobody's fault, it's just ill luck
la faute à qui: who's to blame? whose fault is it?
la ferme: shut up
la fermer: to shut it, to shut up (refrain from speech)
la fin justifie les moyens: the end justifies the means
la fleur au fusil: in a jolly manner, merrily, light-heartedly, insouciantly, blithely; boldly, bravely and enthusiastically
la foi déplace les montagnes: synonym of la foi transporte les montagnes
la foi transporte les montagnes: faith will move mountains
la fortune sourit aux audacieux: fortune favors the bold
la foudre ne tombe jamais deux fois au même endroit: lightning never strikes twice in the same place
la goutte d'eau qui fait déborder le vase: the straw that broke the camel's back
la gueule enfarinée: with cockeyed optimism, with naive overconfidence
la honte: what a disgrace! how disgraceful!; that's pathetic! how awful!
la main sur le cœur: in all sincerity, open-heartedly, with hand on heart
la majeur: A major
la marque à la pomme: Apple (technology company)
la meilleure défense, c'est l'attaque: attack is the best form of defence, the best defense is a good offense
la messe est dite: the die is cast
la mettre en sourdine: to shut up (refrain from speech)
la mettre en veilleuse: to shut up (refrain from speech)
la montagne a accouché d'une souris: it was much ado about nothing
la mort dans l'âme: with great distress, with a heavy heart