Images for Effort and Progress
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4. November 2026
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French uses vivid, everyday images to talk about rolling up your sleeves, hitting a wall and finally finishing a tough job. This set follows the natural arc of a long effort in study, work or a home project:
- Trying hard: idioms for pitching in, racking your brains and working twice as fast
- Getting nowhere: expressions for going in circles, stalling and struggling with a problem
- Making progress: phrases for passing a milestone, seeing the end and having your efforts pay off
Picture the literal image behind each phrase—from baking dough to neutral gear in a car—to help lock the expression in your memory.
Voca-Karten
1.
se retrousser les manches
to roll up one's sleeves
Il va falloir se retrousser les manches si on veut finir de repeindre le salon ce week-end.
We're going to have to roll up our sleeves if we want to finish repainting the living room this week
2.
prendre le taureau par les cornes
to take the bull by the horns
J'ai pris le taureau par les cornes et j'ai enfin refait tout mon CV hier soir.
I took the bull by the horns and finally redid my whole resume last night.
3.
mettre la main à la pâte
to pitch in, to lend a hand
Si tout le monde met la main à la pâte, le jardin sera nettoyé avant midi.
If everyone pitches in, the yard will be cleaned up before noon.
Literally 'to put one's hand in the dough', meaning to pitch in and help with the practical work.
4.
se donner du mal
to go to a lot of trouble, to work hard
Il s'est donné beaucoup de mal pour réparer ce vieux vélo lui-même.
He went to a lot of trouble to fix that old bike himself.
Often used with 'beaucoup' ('se donner beaucoup de mal'). In the 'passé composé', 'donné' stays invariable: 'elle s'est donné du mal'.
5.
se plier en quatre
to bend over backward
Elle s'est pliée en quatre pour boucler le dossier avant le départ du client.
She bent over backward to wrap up the file before the client left.
Literally 'to fold oneself in four', meaning to bend over backwards or do everything possible.
6.
se casser la tête
to rack one's brains
Ça fait une heure que je me casse la tête sur ce problème de code sans trouver l'erreur.
I've been racking my brains over this coding problem for an hour without finding the error.
Literally 'to break one's head', meaning to rack one's brains over a complicated problem.
7.
mettre les bouchées doubles
to work twice as hard, to step it up
On a pris du retard sur le chantier, alors on va devoir mettre les bouchées doubles cette semaine.
We fell behind on the construction site, so we're going to have to work twice as hard this week.
Literally 'to put in double mouthfuls', meaning to work twice as fast or twice as hard to catch up.
8.
mettre le paquet
to go all out, to pull out all the stops
Il a vraiment mis le paquet sur ses révisions pour décrocher son diplôme.
He really went all out with his studying to get his degree.
Informal. Literally 'to put the package', meaning to go all out and put maximum effort into something.
9.
tourner en rond
to go around in circles
Ça fait deux heures qu'on cherche une idée pour l'affiche et j'ai l'impression qu'on tourne en rond.
We've been looking for an idea for the poster for two hours, and I feel like we're going around in c
Literally 'to turn in a circle', meaning to go around in circles without getting anywhere.
10.
faire du surplace
to tread water, to get nowhere
Mon espagnol a vite progressé au début, mais depuis six mois j'ai l'impression de faire du surplace.
My Spanish improved quickly at first, but for the past six months I feel like I've been treading wat
From 'sur place' (on the spot), like stepping in place without moving forward.
11.
être au point mort
to be at a standstill
Les travaux de la salle de bain sont au point mort en attendant la livraison du carrelage.
The bathroom remodel is at a standstill while we wait for the tile delivery.
'Le point mort' is neutral gear in a car; figuratively, it means a project is at a complete standstill.
12.
faire fausse route
to be on the wrong track
Après trois jours d'essais au laboratoire, on a compris qu'on faisait fausse route.
After three days of testing in the lab, we realized we were on the wrong track.
Literally 'to make false road', meaning to be on the wrong track with a method or idea.
13.
se casser les dents sur quelque chose
to hit a wall with something, to be stumped by something
Plusieurs techniciens se sont cassé les dents sur cette panne avant qu'elle trouve la solution.
Several technicians were stumped by this breakdown before she found the solution.
Literally 'to break one's teeth on something'. In the 'passé composé', 'cassé' stays invariable: 'ils se sont cassé les dents'.
14.
s'arracher les cheveux
to pull one's hair out, to tear one's hair out
Je m'arrache les cheveux sur la notice de montage de cette étagère.
I'm pulling my hair out over the assembly instructions for this bookshelf.
15.
serrer les dents
to grit one's teeth, to tough it out
La dernière semaine de préparation a été rude, mais toute l'équipe a serré les dents.
The last week of preparation was rough, but the whole team gritted their teeth.
16.
franchir un cap
to turn a corner, to reach a milestone
Depuis que je lis des articles en français tous les matins, je sens que j'ai franchi un cap.
Since I started reading articles in French every morning, I feel like I've turned a corner.
Literally 'to round a cape' as a ship does at sea, meaning to pass an important milestone or stage.
17.
tenir le bon bout
to be on the home stretch, to almost have it
Ne lâche rien pour ton mémoire, il ne te reste que la conclusion, tu tiens le bon bout !
Don't give up on your thesis—you only have the conclusion left, you're on the home stretch!
Literally 'to hold the right end', often used to encourage someone who is close to finishing a long task.
18.
voir le bout du tunnel
to see the light at the end of the tunnel
Après un mois dans les cartons et la poussière, on commence enfin à voir le bout du tunnel.
After a month among boxes and dust, we're finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel
19.
venir à bout de quelque chose
to get the better of something, to overcome something
Avec un peu de patience, on est enfin venus à bout de cette vieille peinture sur les volets.
With a little patience, we finally got the better of that old paint on the shutters.
Literally 'to come to the end of something', meaning to finally overcome or finish a very difficult task.
20.
porter ses fruits
to pay off, to bear fruit
Tous tes efforts ont fini par porter leurs fruits : tu as réussi l'examen du premier coup.
All your hard work finally paid off: you passed the exam on the first try.
When the subject is plural, 'ses' changes to 'leurs': 'nos efforts ont porté leurs fruits'.