A FEW KEYS TO “JOURNALESE”: WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
Transcription
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.