cuckoo

coucou

Oiseau au chant caractéristique de deux notes ; de nombreuses espèces pondent dans le nid d’autres oiseaux.

En anglais simple : A bird with a familiar two-note call; many types lay their eggs in other birds’ nests.

• I heard a cuckoo this morning.
• A cuckoo laid an egg in that nest.
• Cuckoos return to these woods each spring.

Expressions courantes : cuckoo call, cuckoo egg, hear a cuckoo

coucou

Petite figurine d’oiseau qui sort d’une horloge quand elle sonne l’heure.

En anglais simple : A small bird figure that comes out of a clock when it announces the hour.

• The cuckoo popped out at noon.
• The clock’s wooden cuckoo had a broken wing.
• She watched the little cuckoo disappear behind its door.

Expressions courantes : wooden cuckoo, clock’s cuckoo, carved cuckoo

chant du coucou

Cri de deux notes produit par l’oiseau appelé coucou.

En anglais simple : The two-note sound made by a bird of this name.

• A cuckoo echoed through the woods.
• We heard a soft cuckoo from the trees.
• Her imitation of the cuckoo made us laugh.

Expressions courantes : distant cuckoo, soft cuckoo, repeated cuckoo

pendule à coucou

Horloge qui annonce l’heure par un chant d’oiseau, généralement accompagné d’une petite figurine d’oiseau mobile.

En anglais simple : A clock that announces the hour with a bird sound and usually a small moving bird figure.

• The cuckoo struck twelve.
• We hung an old cuckoo in the kitchen.
• Have you wound the cuckoo today?

Synonymes : cuckoo clock

Expressions courantes : antique cuckoo, wooden cuckoo, wind the cuckoo

dingue, fou

Qui pense ou agit d’une façon jugée étrange ou déraisonnable.

En anglais simple : Behaving or thinking in a way that seems strange or unreasonable.

• That idea is completely cuckoo.
• I thought I was going cuckoo.
• You must be cuckoo to swim in this weather.

Comment l'utiliser : go cuckoo (I’ll go cuckoo if that alarm keeps ringing.)

Synonymes : crazy, mad, nuts

Contraires : sane

Expressions courantes : go cuckoo, completely cuckoo, a little cuckoo

faire coucou

Émettre le cri de deux notes caractéristique du coucou.

En anglais simple : To make the two-note call associated with a particular bird.

• The bird cuckooed in the trees.
• Our old clock cuckoos every hour.
• We heard a bird cuckooing beyond the garden.

Expressions courantes : cuckoo softly, cuckoo from trees, cuckoo all morning

répéter sans cesse

Dire la même chose encore et encore.

En anglais simple : To say the same thing again and again.

• He cuckooed the same phrase again.
• The speakers kept cuckooing their party’s slogan.
• She cuckoos whatever her friends say.

Synonymes : parrot, repeat

Expressions courantes : cuckoo a phrase, cuckoo the slogan, cuckoo endlessly

s’emparer d’un logement

Prendre le contrôle du logement d’une personne vulnérable pour y mener secrètement des activités criminelles organisées.

En anglais simple : To take control of a vulnerable person’s home and secretly use it for organized crime.

• The gang cuckooed his flat.
• Dealers were cuckooing homes to store stolen goods.
• Police warned that criminals might cuckoo vulnerable residents.

Expressions courantes : cuckoo someone’s home, cuckoo a flat, cuckoo vulnerable people