IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchConter fleurette
Meaning: To woo someone with sweet talk.
Literally: To tell little flowers
Example: “Au bal du village, il contait fleurette à toutes les danseuses.” — At the village dance, he sweet-talked every one of the dancers.
English equivalent: To sweet-talk someone
Equivalents in other languages
English: sweet-talk
Origin: Fleurette is a small flower and by extension a pretty nothing said to a woman. English very likely took flirt from this phrase, borrowing it in the 16th century and handing it back unrecognizable.
More French idioms
- Une promesse de Gascon A promise nobody expects to be kept.
- Vouer aux gémonies To denounce someone publicly and utterly.
- Cousin germain A first cousin.
- Faire partie du Gotha To belong to the highest society.
- Des goûts et des couleurs on ne discute pas There is no arguing with personal preference.
- Mettre le grappin sur quelque chose To get one's hooks into something and not let go.
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