Heath's French and English dictionary

by Jean Louis de Lolme

pie, n.f., (orni.) magpie, pie. —-grièche, (—s-—s) shrike; shrew, vixen. Elle jase comme une —; she chatters like a magpie. Il croit avoir trouvé la — au nid; he thinks he has made a great discovery; he has found a mare’s nest.

pie, adj., (l.u.) pious, charitable; (of horses) piebald.

pièce, n.f., piece, length, fragment, trick; play, performance; document, paper; head (of cattle, of poultry, game); apartment; puncheon, cask (of oil, wine, etc.); piece of ordnance, cannon; document; joint (of cooked meat). Mettre en —s; to pull, to tear, to pieces. Être armé de toutes —s; to be armed at all points. Faire de toutes —s; to do a thing entirely, to carry anything through. Emporter la —; to sting to the quick, to strike home. Rassemblage de —s; patchwork. — de vin; puncheon of wine. En —; in the cask, in the wood. — d’eau; sheet of water. Une — d’artillerie; a piece of ordnance. —s de campagne; field-pieces. —s de batterie; heavy ordnance. — de théâtre; play. Être bien près de ses —s; to have very little money. Tout d’une —; all of a piece; (of persons) bolt upright. Jouer une — à quelqu’un; to play any one a trick. Accommoder, habiller de toutes —s; to abuse soundly, to rate, to treat ill, to fall foul of. Travailler à l’emporte —; to work by fits and starts, feverishly, to scamp work. Une bonne —; a cunning blade. Donnez la —; to tip. — de résistance; principal dish, joint. — justificative; voucher. — de conviction; material, circumstantial evidence. — à —; bit by bit. Tant la —; so much a piece, a cask. Travailler à ses —s; to work by the job.

piécette, n.f., small Spanish silver coin, peseta.

pied (pié), n.m., foot; footing; track; leg (of furniture); bottom, ground; pace, slip, track; stalk (of plants). Les doigts du —; the toes. — bot; club-foot, club-footed. Avoir des cors aux —s; to have corns on one’s feet. Le cou-de-—, (—s-—) the instep. Marcher sur la pointe du —; to walk on tip-toe. Un coup de —; a kick. Donner des coups de — à; to kick. Aller à —; to go on foot. Sur —; on foot, standing, astir, sitting up. Taper du —; to stamp. Marcher —s nus; to walk barefooted. Mettre sous ses —s; to trample upon. Les —s de devant; the fore-feet. Petits-—s, (—) small fowl, small game. — plat, plat —; flat foot; (fig.) knave, mean rascal. — poudreux; vagabond, rascal, scoundrel. Une coutume qui prend —; a custom that is gaining ground. Perdre —; to get out of one’s depth. Avoir —; not to be out of one’s depth. —s et poings liés; tied hand and foot. Lâcher —; to give way, to fall back. Prendre — sur quelque chose; to take anything as a precedent. Ne savoir sur quel — danser; not to know which way to turn. Sauter à —s joints; to jump upon; (fig.) to ride rough-shod over. Tenir le — sur la gorge de quelqu’un; to attempt to force any one to do anything. Tenir — à boule; to stick to one’s work. Couper l’herbe sous le — à quelqu’un; to supplant any one. Il a été sur — toute la nuit; he has been up all night. De — en cap; cap-a-pie, from head to foot. Haut le —; be off with you; let us be off at once! Faire haut le —; to vanish, to disappear; to run away. Haut-le-—, (—) (fam.) a man with no fixed residence; a scoundrel. Renvoyer des chevaux haut le —; to send horses away without saddles or harness. Au — de la lettre; strictly speaking, literally. Si vous lui donnez un —, il en prendra quatre; give him an inch and he’ll take an ell. Il a trouvé chaussure à son —; he has found just what he wanted; he has met with his match. Il s’est tiré une épine du —; he pulled a thorn out of his foot; (fig.) he has got out of a difficulty. Être en —; to be in the exercise of one’s functions. De — ferme; without stirring, firmly. De plain —; on a level with. Être assis au — d’un arbre; to be seated at the foot of a tree. Un — de céleri; a stick of celery. Le — du lit; the foot of the bed. Le — d’une table; the leg of a table. — de mât; heel of a mast. Cela a tant de —s de long; that is so many feet long. — à —; step by step; by degrees. Sur le — de; at the rate of. D’arrache-—; without intermission, without stopping. Au petit —; on a small scale. Faire des —s et des mains pour; to do one’s utmost (to), to leave no stone unturned (to). Sur le — où en sont les choses; as matters stand. Avoir bon —, bon œil; to be hale and hearty. Mettre quelqu’un à —; to dismiss a functionary; to deprive a cabman of his license. Ne pas se moucher du —; to give one’s self airs; to be no fool. Sécher sur —; to pine away. La mort l’a pris au — levé; death took him without warning, unawares. Aller du — comme un chat maigre; to be a capital walker.

pied-à-terre, n.m., (—) temporary lodging; country-box; shooting lodge.

pied-d’alouette, n.m., (—s-—) (bot.) larkspur.

pied-de-coq, n.m., (—s-—) (bot.) cock’s-foot-grass.

pied-de-lion, n.m., (—s-—) (bot.) lion’s-foot.

pied-de-poule, n.m., (—s-—) (bot.) crowfoot.