A FEW KEYS TO “JOURNALESE”: WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS

A FEW KEYS TO “JOURNALESE”:
WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS COMMONLY
USED IN THE MEDIA
N.B.: abbreviations used:
(adj) = adjective; (n) = noun; (vt) = transitive verb; (vi) =
intransitive verb; (loc): locution or collocation; (U) =
uncountable ; (C) = countable; (fig): figurative meaning; (form.)
= formal; * = colloquial; (pol.) = politics; (jur.) = legal term.
*
Abide by (vt): respecter, se conformer à (law, contract…)
Accountable (for sthg / to s.o.): légalement responsible (The US
President is not accountable to Congress)
Aftermath: contrecoup, suites (the danger of epidemics in the
aftermath of the earthquake)
Agenda (to be on the agenda): ordre du jour, calendrier
(Wholesale political reforms are on the agenda)
Air (on the): passage à l’antenne ou sur les ondes (to go on the
air / To be taken off the air: être interdit d’antenne / Air-time:
temps d’antenne)
Air-space lane: couloir aérien
All-time (adj): record (adj), sans précédent (The price of petrol
has reached an all-time high)
Approval rating: taux de popularité
Armoury (n) : arsenal (militaire) (France’s nuclear armoury has
come under criticism lately)
Asylum seeker: demander d’asile / Asylum application:
demande d’asile
Avenue : voie (fig), mode (Every avenue has been explored to
find a solution)
Backfire (vi): avoir des rebondissements imprévus (plan, project)
Backlash : répercussions, retour de bâton (Economic problems
have spawned a backlash against immigrants)
Bail-out: aide financière, soutien (We’re hoping for a
government bail-out)
Ballot: vote / tour de scrutiny (He was elected on the first ballot /
unmarked ballot: bulletin blanc)
Ban (n & vt): interdiction / interdire (There was a ban on Coca
Cola products a few years ago)
Bear out (vt): corroborer, accréditer (These facts bear out our
theory)
Benchmark: repère, référence, critère (This treaty will be used as
a benchmark for future negotiations)
Blackleg* (n): un jaune* (syn: scab)
Board : conseil, commission, jury (board of experts, exam board
/ board of directors : conseil d’administration)
Body: organisme, organisation
Bombshell: revelation fracassante (to drop a bombshell)
Boost (vt): stimuler (The measures are intended to boost exports)
Bottom line (loc): le fond de l’affaire (The bottom line is that
he’s been lying all along) / [also] résultat financier (Business
today is only interested in the bottom line)
Brainchild: invention personnelle, création (à partir d’un projet)
(The World Social Forum was the brainchild of anti-capitalist
organisations in the 1990s)
Break off (vt): rompre (diplomatic ties)
Broker (vt): arranger, élaborer (deal, agreement, treaty)
Buffer: tampon (fig) (The country has become a buffer zone
between the East and the West)
By-line: signature (newspaper article) (There is generally no byline in an editorial)
Call the shots*: mener la danse, faire la loi (The mafia calls the
shots in this region) [also: to call the tunes]
Campaign (n & vi): campagne (pub, électorale) / faire campagne
/ Smear campaign: campagne de diffamation
Carry (vt) : être passible de (jur.) (This crime carries a life
sentence)
Casualty : victime (accident, bomb attack…) / Casualty list : la
liste des victimes
Champion (vt) : soutenir, défendre (a cause)
Child sex abuse : pédophilie
Chip on one’s shoulder (loc) : grief, rancœur (He has a chip on
his shoulder because he never went to university)
Claim responsibility for: revendiquer (killing, attack)
Clash of civilizations: le choc des civilisations
Climb down (vi): revenir sur ses positions, céder (Neither party
is willing to climb down) / Climb-down (n): reculade,
concession
Clout: poids, influence, pouvoir (His position carries a lot of
clout)
Column (n): chronique (gossip column: chronique mondaine)
Come out on top (loc) : s’imposer comme le leader, sortir grand
vainqueur
Come through (vi) : paraître, être annoncé (news, result…) (The
news of his resignation came through yesterday)
Conservation area: zone protégée, site protégé
Conservationist: défenseur de l’environnement also for historic
buildings)
Consumer goods: biens de consummation
Consumer society: société de consommation
Cook the books* (loc) : truquer les comptes
Copycat (n & adj): copieur, qui imite (Copycat crime: crime où
le meurtrier a voulu imiter un crime célèbre)
Corporate (adj) : de l’entreprise (the corporate world)
Countdown: compte à rebours (The countdown until election day
has begun)
Counterpart: homologue (Bush is to meet his French counterpart
on Monday)
Cover up (vt): dissimuler, étouffer (scandal, truth) (also: hush up)
/ To cover up for s.o.: couvrir, protéger qqn
Coverage: couverture médiatique (The Iraq war has been given
extensive media coverage)
Crackdown (n): repression, représailles / Crack down (on) (vt):
réprimer sévèrement (The Chinese government cracked down on
the students in June 1989)
Credit (n & vt): actif, point positif (to have sthg to one’s credit:
avoir qqch à son actif / To be credited with sthg: Much of the
firm’s success has been credited to his talent)
Cronyism*: copinage*
Curb (vt): freiner, metre un frein à (inflation, unrest…) [also: to
rein in: the government is trying to rein in public expenditure]
Curfew: couvre-feu
Currency: monnaie (the single currency: la monnaie unique) / To
enjoy wide currency (loc): être monnaie courante
Cut and dried* (loc): décidé à l’avance (The outcome of the
investigation isn’t cut and dried)
Cut-and-thrust (loc): échange animé (He never got used to the
cut-and-thrust of political debate)
Cut no ice (loc): ne faire aucun effet (The president’s speech cut
no ice with his opponents)
Cut back (vt): réduire (expenditure, spending) / Cutback (n):
there has been a major cutback in defence spending
Dead heat (loc, esp. US): égalité, coude-à-coude (The 2 main
candidates are in a dead heat in the polls) [also: neck-and-neck]
Deadline: ultimatum, dernière limite
Deadlock: impasse, blocage (The peace talks are in a deadlock) /
(also: stand-off)
Debt relief: allègement de la dette / to write off a debt: annuler
une dette / To reschedule a debt: rééchelonner une dette
Decommission (vt): fermer, supprimer (reactor, plant…)
Defendant: accusé (jur) / contraire de plaintiff
Defuse (vt) : désamorcer (a bomb, a crisis)
Deliver the goods (loc) : tenir ses engagements (The government
promised a lot, but failed to deliver the goods)
Demur (at) [formal]: s’opposer à, s’inscrire en faux contre (The
personnel demurred at the management’s new scheme)
Diplomatic bag: valise diplomatique (US: diplomatic pouch)
Disclaim (vt): démentir (rumour, accusation) / disclaimer (n): un
démenti
Double standards : 2 poids, 2 mesures (to apply double standards)
Draft a bill (loc) : rédiger un projet de loi
Dyed-in-the-wool (adj) : orthodoxe, bon teint (pol) (John Major
was described by his opponents as a dyed-in-the-wool
Conservative)
Embezzle (vt): détourner (money) / embezzlement (n)
Empower (vt): habiliter (the president is empowered to appoint
his successor)
Endorse (vt): cautioner, soutenir (regime, ideology, system)
Enforce (ct): faire appliquer (law, regulation) / enforcement (n)
Excise (n): taxe sur produits manufacturés (alcohol, tobacco…)
Face down (vt): affronter (et mater) (In 2004 Blair faced down
the threat of a Cabinet mutiny)
Fall-out (n): retombées (of a nuclear bomb / of a policy) / Fallout shelter: abri anti-atomique
Fall short of sthg / of doing sthg: ne pas parvenir à un résultat
(Her work fell short of our expectations / His policy fell short of
redressing the situation)
Fall through (vi): tomber à l’eau, échouer (scheme, plan)
Feature (n): article de société, portrait (media)
Field : terrain d(action, de recherche) (to work in the field) /
Field work : travail de terrain / Field trip : voyage d’étude (sur le
terrain)
Fight one’s corner* (loc) : défendre son bifteck
Figurehead: fantoche, personnage sans importance réelle (The
Queen is often described as a mere figurehead)
File a suit (loc): intenter un procès (against s.o.) / File a
complaint : déposer plainte
Fillip (n) : encouragement, coup de pouce (This measure gave a
fillip to the housing market)
Flare-up (n) : flambée, irruption (of violence, unrest…)
Flat (adj): forfaitaire, fixe (We charge a flat rate of $ 25 per user)
/ flat-rate contribution: contribution forfaitaire
Flying visit: voyage éclair (statesman, celebrity…)
Footage (U): documents filmiques (Old footage from the First
World War shows the battle of the Somme is great detail)
Foregone conclusion (loc): conclusion courue d’avance
Forthcoming (adj): prochain, à venir (He is bound to be the
winner of the forthcoming election) / ouvert, franc (Iran is not
particularly forthcoming about its nuclear programme)
Frame-up (n): coup monté / to frame up (vt): piéger qqn
Freeze (n): blocage (pay freeze, price freeze) / (vt): bloquer,
geler
Front-runner (n): favori (election) [voir runner-up]
Gag (vt): baillonner, museler (press, opposition…)
Gain ground (loc): gagner du terrain (idea, movement…)
Give (s.o.) the go-ahead: donner le feu vert
Give-and-take (adj): donnant-donnant, de concessions mutuelles
(a give-and-take policy)
Glib (adj): tchatcheur, beau-parleur (People often vote for glib
politicians with simplistic ideas) / glibness (n)
Glitch* (n): problème technique, pépin
Global warming (loc) : le réchauffement de la planète
Globalization : la mondialisation
Go back to the drawing-board (loc) : revoir sa copie (fig)
Go down in history (loc): entrer dans l’histoire (The heroic
resistance of Stalingrad has gone down in history)
Go off the boil* (loc): s’essouffler, perdre la main (He used to be
a great artist, but he’s gone off the boil lately)
Go to the polls: se render aux urnes
Go over (vi): changer de camp, de bord (pol) (He went over to
the Labour party in 1995)
Grass-roots: la base (party, trade union) (Some decisions are
taken at grass-roots level) / syn: the rank and file
Greenhouse effect (loc): l’effet de serre / Greenhouse gases: les
gaz à effet de serre
Groundwork: foundations, bases (fig) (That meeting laid the
groundwork for the peace talks)
Hail (vt): saluer, accueillir favorablement (The conference was
hailed as a big step forward)
Hammer out (vt): élaborer, échafauder (treaty, agreement…)
Hand (n): ouvrier (a factory hand) / To be an old hand (at sthg):
être un vieux routier
At hand: disponible / In hand: bien en main (We have the matter
in hand now) / Out of hand (to get): échapper au contrôle de
(The situation is getting out of hand in the Middle East) / To
have a hand in sthg: être mêlé à, tremper dans (Syria has always
been suspected of having a hand in Rafic Hariri’s assassination)
Hand down (vt): transmettre, léguer (I hope we will be able to
hand down our traditions to the next generation)
Handout (n): communiqué, bulletin (a news handout) / aide
(matérielle ou financière) (North Korea is still dependent on UN
food handouts)
Handpicked (adj): trié sur le volet (The applicants have been
severely handpicked)
Harass (vt): harceler (morally, sexually) / Sexual harassment:
harcèlement sexuel
Hard-line (ajd): extrémiste, intransigeant (policy, view) / hardliner (n): extrémiste (n), jusqu’au-boutiste
Head office : siège (of a company)
Heavy-handed (adj): rigide, sans souplesse (policy, attitude) (His
heavy-handed management of the crisis cost him the election) /
Heavy-handedness (n)
Hit list: liste noire, liste des personnes à abattre
Hoax : canular (The bomb scare turned out to be a hoax)
Home truths (loc): vérités bien senties, quatre vérités* (It’s time
he was told a few home truths!)
Host (vt): accueillir (London is to host the 2008 Olympic Games)
Hotbed: nid, foyer (fig & péj) (Pakistan is held to be a hotbed of
Muslim fundamentalism)
Hotspot: point chaud, point sensible (The Middle East has been a
major hotspot for over 40 years) [syn.: flashpoint / trouble spot]
Humbug (U): balivernes, boniments (His opponents said his
speech was a lot of humbug) / (C) charlatan, imposteur
Hush up (vt): voir cover up
Hype (U): publicité tapageuse / Hype up (vt): monter en épingle
(event)
Impending (adj) : imminent (War is impending / Impending
doom)
Implement (vt): metre en oeuvre, sur pied (plan, policy…) /
Implementation (n)
In camera (loc): à huis-clos (The trial will be held in camera)
Indict (vt): metre en accusation (jur) (He was indicted for perjury)
/ Indictment (n)
Industrial (adj): souvent sens de “du travail” (Industrial unrest /
Industrial tribunal : les prud’hommes)
Intelligence (U) : renseignements (pol) (Intelligence service :
service de renseignements / Counter-intelligence : le contreespionnage / the C.I.A. : Central Intelligence Agency)
Jackboot (n) : dictature, férule (Burma has been under the
jackboot of the military for years)
Jam (vt) : brouiller (programme, broadcast) / encombrer, saturer
(The switchboard has been jammed by hundreds of calls)
Jeopardy (n): danger, peril (Our nation is in jeopardy) /
Jeopardize (vt)
Joint (adj): commun, conjugué (joint statement, joint venture…)
Jump on the bandwagon (loc) : prendre le train en marche,
rejoindre le mouvement (They will have to jump on the
environmental bandwagon if they want to win the election)
Keynote: thème clé, ton dominant (Anger was the keynote of the
conference)
Knock-on effect (loc): effet domino, réaction en chaîne
Kudos* (U) : la gloire, les lauriers (We did the hard work, but
she got all the kudos for our victory !)
Lag (n): retard, décalage (time lag, jet lag) / Lag (vi): traîner,
rester derrière (Our economy lags behind Germany’s)
Landslide: glissement de terrain (propr.) / raz-de-marée fig) (a
landslide election / Blair’s victory in 1997 was a real landslide)
Lay off (vt) : mettre au chômage technique
Lifeline : bouée de sauvetage (fig) (The telephone was her
lifeline to the world when she was so ill)
Live down (vt): digérer* (fig), se faire à (He has never been able
to live down his electoral defeat)
Losing battle (loc): combat perdu d’avance
Mainspring: moteur (fig) (Fight against abortion is the
mainspring of their action)
Mainstay: pivot, pilier (Agriculture is still the mainstay of the
country’s economy)
Mainstream (n & adj): courant dominant d’action ou de pensée
(a mainstream mentality, way of life… / His work stands outside
the mainstream of American cinema)
Map out (vt): tracer, construire, élaborer (policy, career…)
Mastermind (n & vt): cerveau (fig) / être le cerveau de (Usama
Bin Laden is believed to have masterminded the 9 / 11 attacks)
Matter of concern (loc): être préoccupant (The situation in
Darfur is a matter of concern for the international community)
Maverick (n): marginal, personnage hors-norme (He is too much
of a maverick to win the election)
Migrant flow: flux migratoire
Milestone (n): date importante (This event will be a milestone
for the nation)
Misfire (vi): échouer, rater (plan)
Miss the mark (loc) : passer à côté du but / To be wide of the
mark: être à côté de la plaque
Mock (adj) : faux, simulé (mock trial : simulacre de procès /
mock exam : examen blanc)
Money-laundering (loc) : blanchiment de l’argent sale
Monitor (vt) : contrôler, surveiller (The NASA has built a
scanner to monitor damage to the ozone layer)
Moot (vt): poser une question delicate (pol. esp.) (The question
of updating the regulations has been mooted in Parliament) /
Moot point: point de divergence
Mouthpiece: porte-parole (souvent péj) (This newspaper has
often been described as the Tory party’s mouthpiece)
Nimby* (adj) (esp. US; abr. of ‘Not In My Backyard’): égoïste,
frileux (Their vote against measures to help refugees has been
perceived as a typically nimby attitude)
Offbeat* (adj): atypique, excentrique (person, style)
Office : pouvoir (to hold office / to be in office)
Official (n): responsable (n), représentant (avec fonctions
officielles) (party, government official)
Off-the-cuff (loc. adj): improvisé, à brûle-pourpoint (remark,
interview…)
On the job* (loc): sur le tas (Most of the training is done on the
job) / [also: colloquial phrase for “to have sex”!]
Onus (n): responsabilité, obligation (The onus is now on the UN
to take action: il incombe à présent à l’ONU de prendre des
mesures)
Opt-out (n) : dérogation, dispense (from a law, convention…)
Oust (vt) : chasser, sortir (pol) (from power)
Outlet: debouche (Our export outlets are insufficient) / exutoire
(The film was an excellent emotional outlet)
Outlook: perspective(s), horizon(s) (The country’s outlook is
rather gloomy)
Overdue (adj): Tardif, qui se fait trop attendre (Serious political
changes are long overdue in North Korea)
Overkill (n) (U): matraquage (media overkill), surdose (24 hours
of TV coverage of the US election verged on overkill)
Override (vt): invalider, passer outre (The President’s veto might
be overridden by Congress) / primer sur (Children’s needs ought
to override economic concerns)
Overriding (adj): crucial, preponderant (This issue is of
overriding importance)
Overstate the case (loc): grossir le tableau, exagérer les choses
Pave the way (for) (loc) : préparer le terrain (The new measures
should pave the way for social changes)
Pay lip service (to sthg) (loc): adopter une position de pure
forme, ou de façade (Bush now pays lip service to environmental
issues, but he truly doesn’t care)
Pecking order (often hum.): la stricte hiérarchie (within a group,
a party…)
Pep-talk*: discourse d’encouragement (manager to a team…)
Phase in (vt): introduire progressivement (A new pension system
is to be phased in over the next 5 years) / Phase out (vt): retirer
progressivement (Leaded petrol was phased out in the course of
the 1990s)
Pipe dream (loc): rêve utopique, inaccessible (After the defeat
against Brazil, victory became something of a pipe dream for our
national team)
Pipeline (to be in the) (loc): se preparer, être à l’ordre du jour
(Reform of the higher education system is in the pipeline)
Play down (vt): minimiser (He tried to play down the seriousness
of the incident) / Play up (vt): dramatiser, gonfler
Play into the hands of (loc): faire le jeu de (The disastrous course
of the Iraq war is bound to play into the hands of the Democrats)
Political circles: les milieux politiques
Pool (vt) : mettre en commun (resources, forces) / Pool (n) :
mise en commun (car pool : parc automobile / (US) co-voiturage)
Popularity stakes (loc) : course aux sondages ou à la popularité
(At the moment Bush wouldn’t score very highly in the
popularity stakes)
Pork* (US) : largesses électorales / Pork barrel politics* (US) :
politique de subventions électoralistes
Posse (n) : horde, groupe (touj. menaçant) (of journalists,
demonstrators…) [US history : a group of men helping the
sheriff to arrest a criminal]
Power broker: éminence grise (pol)
Print media (the): la presse écrite
Professional ethics (pl) : la déontologie
Protracted (adj) : interminable, qui traîne en longueur (Russia’s
ugly, protracted war with Chechnya)
Pull-out (n) : retrait (also : withdrawal) / Pull out (v): se retirer
(Israel should now pull out of the Gaza Strip)
Putative (adj) [form.]: présumé (He is the putative leader of the
gang)
Rampage (on the) (loc): déchaîné, incontrôlable (The rioters
went on the rampage and wrecked the town hall)
Record (n): trace écrite ou enregistrée (Contemporary history is a
record of atrocities: De l’histoire contemporaine, on retiendra
surtout les atrocities / He went on record as saying…: On a la
preuve écrite (ou enregistrée) que…) / Off the record (adj &
adv) : officieux
Reinstate (vt): réintégrer (dismissed or sacked worker) /
Reinstatement (n)
Relief agency: organisation humanitaire / Relief worker: membre
d’une organisation humanitaire
Reshuffle (n & vt): remaniement (cabinet reshuffle: remaniement
ministériel)
Restart scheme (n) : plan d’aide (au retour) à l’emploi
Relocate (vt & vi) : réimplanter, se réimplanter (The company
has relocated to Eastern Europe as labour is cheaper there)
Returns : profits, recettes (This new product has brought in quick
returns)
Ride high in the polls (loc): caracoler en tête des sondages (pol.)
Rig (vt) : truquer (an election)
Ringleader : meneur (riot, mob, demonstration)
Round (n) : série, tournée, ensemble (round of negotiations :
série de négotiations / Round of applause : salve
d’applaudissements / Round of redundancies : charrette de
licenciements / Paper round : distribution des journaux)
Round up (vt) : rassembler (people, cattle) / arrêter en masse
(Police have rounded up all the ringleaders) / Round-up (n): rafle,
arrestation massive
Rubber-stamp (vt): entériner, approuver machinalement (The
PM’s decisions are always rubber-stamped by his cabinet!)
Rule out (vt): écarter, éliminer (hypothesis, idea)
Run of bad luck (loc): série noire [contr.: Streak of good luck]
Runner-up (n): le second (election, competition)
Running-mate (n): co-listier (pol.)
Run-up (n): la finale, la dernière ligne droite (race, election)
Savage (vt) : attaquer férocement (His new film has been
savaged by reviewers) [also: malign (vt)]
Scheme (n): plan, programme (a new training scheme for the
unemployed)
Scupper (vt): torpiller, faire échouer (agreement, project…)
Seedbed (n) : terreau, vivier (fig) (Paris was a seedbed of artistic
creation in the 1920s) [touj. positif; comparer avec hotbed]
Sell out (vt): solder, brader (propr. & fig) (Blair’s detractors
claim that he has sold out the left-wing ideals of the Labour
party) / Sell-out (n) (The treaty has been described as a sell-out)
Seminal (adj): précurseur, avant-gardiste (work, book,
research…)
Set the tone (loc): donner le ton (Their quarrel set the tone of the
whole meeting)
Setback (n): contretemps, revers (This incident is a serious
setback for the party)
Shelve (vt): enterer, metre au placard (plan, idea, proposal)
Shop steward: élu syndical (ici, shop = workshop)
Shore up (vt): étayer, renforcer (propr. & fig) (economy, wall…)
/ [also: buttress (vt)
Shot in the arm* (loc): coup de fouet (His good results gave him
a shot in the arm)
Showdown (n): épreuve de force, confrontation decisive (terme
de poker: moment où l’on abat ses cartes)
Sickness benefit : assurance maladie
Sidekick* (n) : acolyte, comparse (de moindre stature) (Blair
will be remembered by many as Bush’s sidekick)
Sit on the fence (loc): ne pas prendre parti, ne pas se mouiller
Sky-rocket (vt): monter en flèche (prices, sales…)
Sleaze* (U): magouille(s), corruption
Slush fund (n): caisse noire
Smear (n & vt) : calomnie(s), diffamation(s) (The Senator claims
he has been the victim of a smear campaign)
Spadework (U : travail de défrichage (fig) (There’s a lot of
spadework to be done before the scheme can be implemented)
Spin* (U): information (manipulée) (They managed to put a
positive spin on the crisis) / Spin doctor* = communications
adviser: conseiller en communication
Spin-off (n): retombées positives (Laser research has had
important spin-offs for eye surgery) / Spin-off products: produits
derives (from a film, a book…)
Spirit away / off / out (vt): faire disparaître en douce, subtiliser
(The Tiananmen archives have been spirited out of China)
Splinter group or party: groupe ou formation dissident(e) (pol.)
Spotlight (n & vt): feux (de l’actualité) (He is constantly in the
spotlight these days) / Attirer l’attention sur (The article
spotlights the issue of the homeless in Britain)
Spree (n): ruée, frénésie (de consommation: shopping spree /
spending spree…)
Spy ring: réseau d’espionnage
Stamp out (vt): éradiquer (The US government has taken drastic
action to stamp out terrorism)
Stand (n): position, point de vue (to take a stand on sthg / Where
do you stand on this issue?)
Stand as candidate (for): se présenter à (election) [US: to run as
candidate / to run for office]
Stand trial (loc. v): être jugé, affronter les tribunaux (Milosevic
had to stand trial in the Hague for his war crimes)
Stand in (for) (v): remplacer (un absent)
Stand up for (v): defendre (one’s rights, someone) / Stand up to
(v): tenir tête à (He’s a tyrant! Someone ought to stand up to him)
Standstill (n): arrêt (propr & fig) (The strikers have brought
production to a standstill)
State-of-the-art (adj): dernier cri (technology, tool…)
Start from scratch (loc): repartir à zero
Step down (vi): se désister, renoncer au pouvoir (pol.) / [also :
stand down]
Step in (vi) : intervenir, s’interposer (The UN will have to step in
sooner or later)
Step up (vt): intensifier, accentuer (efforts, activity…) (The
Israelis have stepped up their bombings of Beirut)
Stock (n): stock (of goods) / (pl): actions, titres (finance) / cote
(fig) (His stock is very high in the media)
Stonewall (vi): noyer le poisson, faire des réponses évasives (esp.
in Parliament or at a press conference) / [also : hedge (vi)]
Stranglehold (n): étau, mainmise (Many big Western firms have
a stranglehold on Africa’s economy)
Strictures [formal]: sévères critiques (His strictures on the film
are quite unjustified)
String out (vt): faire durer, faire traîner (They managed to string
out the negotiations for months)
Stunt (n): combine, tour de passe-passe (touj. péj) (His new
political alliance has been criticized as a cynical stunt)
Subcontract (ct): faire de la sous-traitance (to s.o.)
Subcontractor (n) : sous-traitant
Swingometer (n) : baromètre de tendances (pol)
Tackle (vt) : s’attaquer à (problem) (It is time to tackle inflation
seriously)
Take hard knocks (loc): prendre des coups (propr. & fig)
Take over (vt): reprendre (business, responsibility) / Takeover
(n): reprise, rachat (takeover bid: O.P.A.)
Tall order (loc): voeu pieux (To declare that unemployment will
soon disappear is rather a tall order) [also: wishful thinking (U)]
Tap (vt): metre sur écoute / Telephone tapping
Tax haven: paradis fiscal
Time-server (n): opportuniste / Time-serving (adj)
Tip off (vt): tuyauter, renseigner (police) / Tip-off (n): tuyau,
info
Toe the line (loc): s’aligner, rentrer dans le rang (The minority
refused to toe the official line)
Toll (n): bilan, prix (touj. négatif) (The death toll has now risen
to 6300 in New York)
Tout (vt): vanter, faire la pub de (He is being touted as the next
prime minister / Their company is touting its services on radio)
Trade war: guerre commerciale
Trade-off (n): compromis, équilibre (A trade-off needs to be
found between the benefits of the drug and the risk of side
effects)
Trailblazer (n): précurseur, pionnier / Blaze a or the trail (for /
in): ouvrir la voie à (His research blazed a trail in robotics)
Trouble spot: voir hotspot
Truce: trève (milit.)
Turnout (n): taux de participation (pol.) (There was a very low
turnout at the election)
Turn out (vt): fabriquer, produire (goods) / expulser (tenant)
Turnover (n): chiffre d’affaires / mouvement (of the workforce)
Tycoon (n): magnat, baron (Rupert Murdoch is the leading press
tycoon in the world)
Under house arrest (loc): être assigné à résidence (pol., jur.)
Underground (adj & n) : clandestin (movement, activity) / (to go
underground: entrer dans la clandestinité, prendre le maquis)
Unrest (U) : troubles, agitation (pol., société)
Upbeat (adj) : optimiste (He concluded his speech with an
upbeat assessment of the situation)
Upstage (vt): voler la vedette à (All the big stars were upstaged
by Kathy’s performance)
Upsurge (n): vague, movement (of sympathy, hatred…)
Vantage point: point de vue privilégié (She spoke from the
vantage point of her long professional experience) / Vantage
ground: position stratégique (mil.)
Venue (n): lieu où se tient une manifestation (concert, rally…)
(Central Park has been the venue for many famous rock concerts)
Vested interest(s) (loc): intérêt direct (financier ou politique)
(Tobacco companies have a vested interest in claiming that
smoking is harmless)
Vet (vt): enquêter sur, vérifier les informations sur / Vetting
procedures (The vetting procedures are often very long for
asylum seekers)
Viewership (U): l’audimat (T.V. viewer: téléspectateur)
Vindicate (vt) [form.]: accréditer (theory, truth) / réhabiliter,
disculper (s.o. formerly discredited or condemned)
War-monger (n): va-t-en-guerre, fauteur de troubles / Warmongering (adj)
Waste (U): déchets (toxic waste / Household waste : déchets
domestiques)
Watchdog (n & adj): comité ou organisme de protection ou de
vigilance (consumer watchdog, human rights watchdog)
Watchword (n): mot d’ordre
Watershed (n & adj): tournant fig) (The collapse of the Soviet
Union marked a watershed in international relations / a
watershed year)
Whitewash* (n): camouflage (of sthg dishonest), poudre aux
yeux (The announcement was only a whitewash of the
government’s incompetence: Cette annonce n’était qu’une mise
en scène pour camoufler…)
Wholehearted (adj): total, sans restriction (We want a
wholehearted commitment by all the parties to stop violence)
Wholesale (adj): global, massif, en profondeur (wholesale
changes / a wholesale rejection of their policy…)
Wishful thinking: prendre ses desires pour des réalités (This is
clearly a case of wishful thinking) [see also tall order]
Work to rule (loc): (faire) la grève du zèle
Working population (the): la population active
Writing is on the wall (the) (loc): la catastrophe ou la fin est
imminente (The writing was on the wall for Saddam Hussein in
February 2003)
*
Cette liste n’est en rien exhaustive. C’est à vous de l’enrichir en
prenant des notes lexicales au fil de vos lectures de presse.