plat

n. m.

1. Faire du plat:

  a (in amorous relationship): To 'smooch up to', to sweet-talk.

  b To 'butter-up', to 'soft-soap', to flatter. Les clients, il faut toujours qu'il leur fasse du plat: When he's there, the customers all get a fair bit of flannel.

2. En faire tout un plat (of event, happening): To make a mountain out of a molehill. (There are two possible interpretations where this expression is concerned, according to whether too much is made of a good or bad thing.) Ne pas faire un plat de quelque chose: To play something down.

3. Envoyer du plat à quelqu'un: To 'tip someone the wink', to signal discreetly to an accomplice to be on his guard.

4. Etre à plat: To be 'knackered', 'buggered', to be exhausted. V'là quinze jours que je me sens à plat'. I've been feeling under the weather these last two weeks. Toute cette histoire m'a vraiment mis à plat! This whole business has taken it out of me!

5. Mettre à plat: To 'stash away', to save and hoard money.

6. Prendre un plat (Diving): To come a belly-flopper.

7. Repiquer au plat:

  a (lit): To come back for 'seconds', to have another helping of food.

  b (fig.): To come back for more. Du jour qu'il a mis les pieds au P.m.U. il n'a cessé de repiquer au plat: Since the day he set foot in the bookie's, it's become a real habit with him.

8. Il en fait un de ces plats! (of weather): Phew! What a scorcher!

9. Plat de nouilles: 'Drip', 'wet nurk', spineless indivi dual.