snowball

boule de neige

Masse ronde de neige tassée, souvent faite pour être lancée en jouant.

En anglais simple : A round lump of snow pressed together, often for throwing in play.

• She threw a snowball at me.
• The children had a snowball fight in the garden.
• My snowball melted before I could throw it.

Expressions courantes : throw a snowball, snowball fight, make a snowball

gâteau boule de neige

Petit gâteau généralement fourré de crème et recouvert de chocolat et de noix de coco séchée.

En anglais simple : A small cake, usually filled with cream and covered with chocolate and dried coconut.

• I ate a snowball with my tea.
• The bakery sells snowballs filled with fresh cream.
• Would you like a chocolate snowball for dessert?

Expressions courantes : chocolate snowball, coconut snowball, cream-filled snowball

faire boule de neige, s'amplifier

Prendre rapidement de l’ampleur, souvent au point de devenir difficile à maîtriser.

En anglais simple : To grow bigger very quickly, often becoming difficult to control.

• Our debts began to snowball.
• The problem snowballed into a crisis within days.
• Costs are snowballing as the project falls further behind.

Comment l'utiliser : snowball into something (A small argument snowballed into a major dispute.)

Synonymes : escalate, grow, multiply

Contraires : shrink, diminish

Expressions courantes : snowball into something, snowball out of control, costs snowball