Expressions idiomatiques anglais prépa : 100 phrases concours

Pourquoi les expressions idiomatiques font la différence

L'idiomatisme, c'est ce qui distingue une essay correcte d'une essay vraiment bonne.

Le critère qui sépare 13 et 16

Une essay BCE notée 13 a une grammaire correcte, du vocabulaire suffisant, une structure claire. Une essay notée 16 a tout cela, plus une fluidité idiomatique. Elle utilise les bonnes prépositions, les bons verbes à particule (phrasal verbs), les expressions toutes faites attendues par un correcteur natif.

Ce que cherchent les jurys

Les rapports de jury BCE et Ecricome insistent : ils valorisent l'authenticité de la langue. Les calques du français sont sévèrement sanctionnés. Les expressions idiomatiques bien placées sont remarquées et récompensées.

Comment les apprendre efficacement

Pas en bloc. Cinq par jour, fichées dans un carnet, relues une fois par semaine. Sur six mois, tu en intègres 200 sans effort. Vise d'en utiliser au moins trois par essay de concours.

Expressions sur l'économie et la mondialisation

1. To weather the storm

Sens : traverser une crise. "The economy managed to weather the storm of the 2008 crisis." À utiliser pour parler de récession, de crise financière.

2. To level the playing field

Sens : créer des conditions égales. "Antitrust regulations aim to level the playing field between incumbents and newcomers."

3. A double-edged sword

Sens : à double tranchant. "Globalization has been a double-edged sword for emerging economies."

4. To pull the strings

Sens : tirer les ficelles. "A handful of multinationals pull the strings of the global economy."

5. To weather a downturn

Sens : surmonter un ralentissement. "Diversified economies are better positioned to weather a downturn."

6. The bottom line

Sens : l'essentiel, le résultat net. "The bottom line is that growth without sustainability is no longer an option."

7. To break the bank

Sens : ruiner. "This investment program won't break the bank if it is properly funded."

8. To make ends meet

Sens : joindre les deux bouts. "Many low-income families struggle to make ends meet despite working full-time."

9. A boom and bust cycle

Sens : un cycle d'expansion-récession. "The crypto market is a textbook example of a boom and bust cycle."

10. To level off

Sens : se stabiliser. "After years of rapid growth, China's economy has begun to level off."

Expressions sur la politique et les institutions

11. To turn a blind eye

Sens : fermer les yeux. "Some governments turn a blind eye to corruption when it serves their interests."

12. To cross the line

Sens : franchir la ligne. "By censoring the press, the regime has crossed the line into authoritarianism."

13. A vicious circle

Sens : un cercle vicieux. "Poverty and lack of education form a vicious circle that is hard to break."

14. To pave the way for

Sens : ouvrir la voie à. "The 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for European integration."

15. To pull the rug from under someone

Sens : couper l'herbe sous le pied. "The president pulled the rug from under his minister by reversing the policy."

16. To toe the line

Sens : se conformer. "Members of parliament are expected to toe the party line."

17. To rally around the flag

Sens : faire bloc. "In times of crisis, citizens tend to rally around the flag."

18. The lesser of two evils

Sens : le moindre mal. "Many voters view the candidate as the lesser of two evils."

19. To pass the buck

Sens : refiler la patate chaude. "Politicians often pass the buck on long-term issues like climate change."

20. A slippery slope

Sens : une pente glissante. "Restricting one freedom can be a slippery slope towards authoritarianism."

Expressions sur la société, l'éducation, la culture

21. To break the mould

Sens : sortir des sentiers battus. "This new education program aims to break the mould of standardized curricula."

22. A glass ceiling

Sens : un plafond de verre. "Despite progress, women still face a glass ceiling in many corporations."

23. To make headway

Sens : progresser. "The country has made significant headway in reducing illiteracy."

24. A wake-up call

Sens : un signal d'alarme. "The pandemic was a wake-up call for global health systems."

25. To bridge the gap

Sens : combler le fossé. "Public education aims to bridge the gap between social classes."

26. To set the tone

Sens : donner le ton. "Universities set the tone for public debate on emerging issues."

27. A tipping point

Sens : un point de bascule. "We are reaching a tipping point in the fight against climate change."

28. To turn the tide

Sens : renverser la tendance. "Strong public investment can turn the tide of declining innovation."

29. To rock the boat

Sens : faire des vagues. "Some critics warn against policies that would rock the boat of social cohesion."

30. To pull oneself up by one's bootstraps

Sens : s'en sortir par ses propres moyens. "The American dream celebrates those who pull themselves up by their bootstraps."

Expressions sur la technologie et l'innovation

31. To be ahead of the curve

Sens : être en avance. "European regulators are ahead of the curve on AI regulation."

32. To break new ground

Sens : innover. "Startups in renewable energy are breaking new ground every year."

33. To think outside the box

Sens : penser de manière originale. "Solving climate change requires thinking outside the box."

34. To raise the bar

Sens : placer la barre plus haut. "Each new generation of smartphones raises the bar for performance."

35. To push the envelope

Sens : repousser les limites. "AI researchers continue to push the envelope of what machines can do."

36. To be on the cutting edge

Sens : être à la pointe. "This university is on the cutting edge of biotech research."

37. To get a foothold

Sens : prendre pied. "Asian tech companies are getting a foothold in the European market."

38. To take off

Sens : décoller. "Electric vehicle sales have really taken off in the past two years."

39. To get up to speed

Sens : se mettre au niveau. "Companies need to get up to speed with new privacy regulations."

40. To raise red flags

Sens : tirer la sonnette d'alarme. "The new surveillance bill raises red flags among civil rights groups."

Expressions sur l'environnement

41. The elephant in the room

Sens : l'éléphant dans la pièce, le problème évident qu'on ignore. "Carbon emissions remain the elephant in the room of trade negotiations."

42. To kick the can down the road

Sens : remettre à plus tard. "Politicians have been kicking the can down the road on climate action for decades."

43. A drop in the ocean

Sens : une goutte d'eau. "Individual recycling efforts are a drop in the ocean compared to industrial pollution."

44. To go green

Sens : passer au vert. "More and more companies are going green to attract investors."

45. To leave a footprint

Sens : laisser une empreinte. "Aviation leaves a heavy carbon footprint that is hard to reduce."

46. To weather extreme conditions

Sens : faire face à des conditions extrêmes. "Cities must adapt to weather extreme heatwaves and storms."

47. To turn the tables

Sens : renverser la situation. "Renewable energy could turn the tables on fossil fuel dependence."

48. To take a toll

Sens : avoir un coût lourd. "Air pollution is taking a toll on public health in major cities."

49. To set in stone

Sens : graver dans la pierre. "Climate targets must be set in stone, not subject to political whims."

50. The tip of the iceberg

Sens : la partie émergée. "Reported pollution incidents are the tip of the iceberg."

Expressions pour argumenter et structurer un essay

51. It goes without saying

Sens : il va sans dire. "It goes without saying that climate change is a defining issue of our time."

52. There is no denying that

Sens : on ne peut nier que. "There is no denying that AI is transforming the labor market."

53. To bear in mind

Sens : garder à l'esprit. "We should bear in mind that economic growth has historical limits."

54. To put it bluntly

Sens : pour le dire crûment. "To put it bluntly, current policies are not delivering."

55. By the same token

Sens : de la même manière. "Education shapes citizens; by the same token, it shapes consumers."

56. On the flip side

Sens : à l'inverse. "The internet democratized information; on the flip side, it amplified misinformation."

57. In light of

Sens : à la lumière de. "In light of recent events, the policy must be rethought."

58. With this in mind

Sens : avec cela en tête. "With this in mind, we can now consider the second argument."

59. By and large

Sens : globalement. "By and large, the reform has produced its intended effects."

60. All things considered

Sens : tout bien considéré. "All things considered, regulation appears to be the better path."

Expressions pour exprimer une opinion nuancée

61. To take with a grain of salt

Sens : prendre avec des pincettes. "Polling data should be taken with a grain of salt."

62. To be of two minds

Sens : être partagé. "Economists are of two minds about the impact of automation."

63. To beg to differ

Sens : se permettre d'être en désaccord. "While many cheer the policy, I beg to differ on its effectiveness."

64. To strike a balance

Sens : trouver un équilibre. "Liberal democracies must strike a balance between freedom and security."

65. To draw the line

Sens : fixer la limite. "Where should we draw the line between free speech and incitement?"

66. To stand to reason

Sens : être logique. "It stands to reason that wealthier countries should bear more of the climate burden."

67. To beg the question

Sens : poser la question (utilisé en argumentation). "This raises and indeed begs the question of legitimacy."

68. To hit the nail on the head

Sens : taper dans le mille. "The author hits the nail on the head when she addresses inequality."

69. There are two sides to every story

Sens : il y a deux côtés à toute histoire. "There are two sides to every story, and the immigration debate is no exception."

70. To see eye to eye

Sens : être d'accord. "Politicians rarely see eye to eye on tax policy."

Expressions sur la causalité et la conséquence

71. To stem from

Sens : découler de. "This crisis stems from years of underinvestment."

72. To trigger a chain reaction

Sens : déclencher une réaction en chaîne. "The collapse of one bank can trigger a chain reaction in the financial system."

73. To pave the way

Sens : ouvrir la voie. "This treaty paved the way for further European integration."

74. To take its toll on

Sens : peser sur. "Long working hours take their toll on employee well-being."

75. To bring about

Sens : entraîner. "Digital technology has brought about a profound shift in social interactions."

76. To give rise to

Sens : donner naissance à. "Inequality has given rise to populist movements across the West."

77. To set off a wave of

Sens : déclencher une vague de. "The scandal set off a wave of public outrage."

78. To leave one's mark

Sens : laisser sa marque. "Steve Jobs left his mark on consumer technology."

79. To have a knock-on effect

Sens : avoir un effet en cascade. "Tariffs have knock-on effects on supply chains and consumer prices."

80. To go hand in hand with

Sens : aller de pair avec. "Education goes hand in hand with social mobility."

Expressions pour conclure ou ouvrir

81. At the end of the day

Sens : en fin de compte. "At the end of the day, the question is one of political will."

82. When all is said and done

Sens : tout compte fait. "When all is said and done, technology amplifies existing inequalities."

83. To boil down to

Sens : se résumer à. "The debate boils down to a single question: who pays?"

84. The jury is still out on

Sens : la question reste ouverte. "The jury is still out on the long-term effects of remote work."

85. Time will tell

Sens : seul le temps le dira. "Whether this reform succeeds, only time will tell."

86. To leave no stone unturned

Sens : ne rien laisser au hasard. "Investigators left no stone unturned in their inquiry."

87. To shed light on

Sens : éclairer. "Recent studies shed light on the mechanisms of inflation."

88. The writing is on the wall

Sens : c'est écrit dans le ciel. "The writing is on the wall for unsustainable energy systems."

89. A breath of fresh air

Sens : une bouffée d'air frais. "This new approach to public policy is a breath of fresh air."

90. The way forward

Sens : la voie à suivre. "International cooperation is the only way forward on climate."

Expressions piégeuses à connaître

Quelques expressions très idiomatiques mais à manier avec précaution.

91. To bite the bullet

Sens : prendre son courage à deux mains. "Companies must bite the bullet and embrace decarbonization."

92. To fly in the face of

Sens : aller à l'encontre de. "This decision flies in the face of scientific consensus."

93. To play devil's advocate

Sens : jouer l'avocat du diable. "Let me play devil's advocate and defend the opposing view."

94. To fall through the cracks

Sens : passer entre les mailles du filet. "Many vulnerable people fall through the cracks of the welfare system."

95. To put one's finger on

Sens : mettre le doigt sur. "It's hard to put one's finger on the cause of recent inflation."

96. To take with a pinch of salt

Sens : prendre avec des pincettes (variante UK). Comme "a grain of salt".

97. To rain on someone's parade

Sens : gâcher la fête. "I don't want to rain on their parade, but the data tells a different story."

98. To be in hot water

Sens : être dans le pétrin. "Several CEOs found themselves in hot water after the scandal."

99. To call the shots

Sens : prendre les décisions. "Multinational corporations increasingly call the shots in trade policy."

100. To turn over a new leaf

Sens : prendre un nouveau départ. "After the crisis, the company is trying to turn over a new leaf."

Comment intégrer ces expressions à ton anglais

Apprentissage par lots de cinq

Cinq expressions par jour, fichées avec sens, contexte, exemple. En vingt jours, tu en as 100. Relis tes fiches une fois par semaine.

L'usage en essay

Vise trois à cinq idiomes par essay BCE. Au-delà, ça peut paraître artificiel. Place les idiomes au début ou à la fin d'un paragraphe pour qu'ils marquent.

L'usage en colle

À l'oral, deux à trois idiomes par colle de 15 minutes. Le kholleur les remarque immédiatement.

Pratiquer en lecture

Lis The Economist, The Guardian, The New York Times. Surligne les expressions idiomatiques. Tu en repéreras plusieurs par article. Note celles qui te plaisent.