It’s funny how French idiomatic expressions and metaphors resemble a menagerie. Or an animal farm perhaps.

There are expressions about dogs, cats, bears, pigs, horses, oxen, foxes, elephants, and just about all your favorite animals.

But today we’ll talk about expressions that involve chèvre, which is French for goat, and we’ll test just how many of these expressions you know. Can you take a guess?

Try your hand at this quiz and don’t try to peek at the answers at the bottom of the page. As a clue, the literal meaning of the expressions related to chèvre (goat in French) are in the image.

If you’re ready, let’s start!

1. What do you think “bêler comme une chèvre’ means?

a. to shout at the top of your lungs
b. to speak with a shaky voice
c. to wail like a crybaby
d. to be a tad too melodramatic

2. Can you translate what “bouc émissaire” is in English?

a. a travelling companion
b. a weirdo
c. a guide
d. a scapegoat

3. What do you think ‘ménager le chèvre et le chou’ means?

a. to keep both parties happy, to play both sides
b. to prepare for a dinner party
c. to cause trouble
d. to be obsessive-compulsive

4. What is ‘mon biquet / ma biquette’?

a. My student
b. My neighbor
c. My adopted child
d. My darling

5. ‘rendre quelqu'un chèvre’ means...

a. to make someone a vegetarian
b. to cause unnecessary trouble
c. to drive someone crazy
d. to turn someone into a sugar daddy/ sugar mommy

SIGN UP BELOW... 

AND GET INSTANT ACCESS TO THE FREEBIES

• Study Guide with free resources from the basics all the way to advanced.
• All of our best tips and tactics deliver directly in your inbox
• Weekly Videos and so much more 

Sign Up

6. A ‘vieux bouc’ is a what?

a. a random bearded guy
b. a dirty old man, old pervert
c. a stinky vagrant
d. an old bartender

7. When you become a goat (devenir chèvre), it means...

a. to become a vegetarian/ to be obsessed with eating healthy
b. to get angry
c. to become super hard-headed
d. to be a crazy partygoer

8. If it’s goat’s poop (c’est de la crotte de bique), what is it?

a. it’s worthless
b. it’s a necessary evil
c. it’s cute
d. it’s a funny situation

Ready with your answers and guesses? Let’s match it with the correct answers below!

1. bêler comme une chèvre:  (b) to speak with a shaky voice
2. bouc émissaire:  (d) a scapegoat
3. ménager le chèvre et le chou: (a) to keep both parties happy, to play both sides
4. mon biquet / ma biquette: (d) My darling
5. rendre quelqu'un chèvre: (c)  to drive someone crazy
6. vieux bouc: (b) a dirty old man, old pervert
7. devenir chèvre (b) to get angry
8. c’est de la crotte de bique (a) it’s worthless

Awsome! You just learned what the French for goat is and a couple of goat-related French expressions. So, which expression tripped you up? How well did you do? Share in the comments! 🙂