French idiom quiz

One idiom, four meanings, one of them right. The three wrong ones are plausible enough to make you think. The literal translation is hidden, though you can buy it.

Guess it cold and the question is worth a point. Reveal the literal first and it is worth half.

No timer, no streak to protect, no daily limit. A round runs until you stop, and getting one wrong costs nothing but the point. The answer tells you why.

Translated literally, most idioms are nonsense. But the picture behind the words survives, and that picture is what you have to work with.

Sometimes it hands you the answer. Sometimes it points you confidently the wrong way.

Answers shown, which they would not be in a round. There you get the expression and four meanings, nothing else.

• donner sa langue au chat

  Literally “to give one's tongue to the cat”

  Actually to give up on guessing.

• découvrir le pot aux roses

  Literally “to discover the pot of roses”

  Actually to uncover a hidden secret.

• parler à travers son chapeau

  Literally “to talk through one's hat”

  Actually to speak confidently about something you don't understand.

Every question comes from the same set of idioms, which covers the whole French-speaking world. You can read the whole collection or see where each one is spoken first.

If you would rather have a fixed three a day with a score worth sharing, that is the daily challenge.