French Expressions and Idioms
Have you heard of “idiomatic expressions”? These are figurative expressions specific to French, that are usually not translatable directly, as each language uses its own references! Therefore, you need to learn them directly in the language, as well as learning French equivalents to the ones you use in English! Knowing idiomatic expressions is key when learning a new language and it will definitely help you sound like a true Français 😊
✍️ Today’s French expressions are:
“Éclipser quelqu’un”
to steal the spotlight from someone
“S’éclipser”
🎧 Here’s a podcast about it!
Want to learn more about these fun expressions, what they mean, and hear some in-context examples? Then listen to Aurélie and Céline‘s related podcast below:
🌘 Some context
The French expressions s’éclipser and éclipser quelqu’un both come from the noun “une éclipse“. Originally, the word éclipse referred only to the astronomical phenomenon in which one celestial body hides another. From the 13th century, however, French also began using the verb s’éclipser figuratively to mean “to disappear” or “to slip away quietly” – much like the Sun or Moon seems to disappear during an eclipse. Likewise, éclipser quelqu’un means “to overshadow someone”, “to outshine someone” or “to steal the spotlight from someone”: just as one celestial body hides another during an eclipse, a person can attract so much attention that someone else is pushed into the background.
👀 How about some examples?
To help you commit these 2 expressions to memory, here are some useful examples of how to use them in context:
- Au mariage de Louis et Agathe, le petit chien Milou a réussi à éclipser les mariés quand il a apporté les alliances.
- Pendant l’émission, cette jeune chanteuse a complètement éclipsé les autres candidats.
- Il était déjà tard, alors Sophie s’est éclipsée sans déranger les autres invités.
- À la fin du concert, les musiciens se sont éclipsés par une porte de service pour éviter la foule.
🤩 Enjoy a special Fill-in-the-Blanks exercise!
With this great Fill-in-the-Blanks exercise featuring our new expressions, you get to practise your French grammar while getting another in-context use of the expressions “éclipser quelqu’un, s’éclipser” to help you remember them 🤗 Que demander de plus ?
- Une bonne soirée (Verbs with Auxiliaries Être and Avoir) – B2
🙌 Now is your time to shine!
Challenge yourself to use these expressions in a French conversation or piece of writing, and let us know what you thought of these expressions, share your idiomatic sentences, and tell us how your French friends reacted to it – en français bien sûr – in the comments below ☺️
À toi de jouer !
Author info
Aurélie is our resident French Expert. She has created most of the wonderful content you see on the site and is usually the person answering your tricky help questions. She comes from a small village near Chartres in Central France, country of cereal fields and not much else. She left (in a hurry) to study English at the world-famous Sorbonne in Paris, before leaving France in 2007 to experience the “London lifestyle” - and never looked back! She's worked as a professional French teacher, translator and linguist in the UK since. She loves to share her love of languages and is a self-professed cinema and literature geek!
For over ten years now, Céline has been teaching French and Italian to students of all ages and abilities in the UK. This French native speaker comes from Brittany, and likes crafts, Breton dance (of course!) and Breton music which she actually played for four years. She also has a fondness for European cinema and British History.