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Informal French Expression
| Meaning | to fill someone’s head with nonsense; to brainwash | |
| Literally | to stuff the skull | |
| Register | informal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[boo ray leu krahn] |
| IPA | [bu ʁe lə kran] | |
Usage notes: The literal meaning of the informal French expression bourrer le crâne isn’t so far from the figurative ones.
1) “To fill someone’s head with nonsense” – to say a lot of untrue or nonsensical things.
Par exemple…
| Arrête de bourrer le crâne à ta petite sœur ! | Stop filling your little sister’s head with nonsense! | |
| Je déteste cette émission, il bourre le crâne aux enfants. | I hate this show, it fills kids’ heads with silly ideas. |
Synonyms
- dire des bêtises
- dire des idioties
- dire n’importe quoi
- raconter des histoires
- raconter des salades
2) "To brainwash" – to deliberately convince someone of something untrue (and often malicious).
Par exemple…
| Tu crois ça ? Mais c’est pas possible ! Qui t’a bourré le crâne ? | You believe that? Impossible! Who brainwashed you? | |
| Non, non, un culte est une religion, comme le luthéranisme. Ce sont les sectes qui bourrent le crâne à leurs membres. | No, no, a sect is a religion, like Lutheranism. Cults are the ones that brainwash their members. |
Faux amis
- un culte = sect
- une secte = cult
Synonyms
- conditionner
- décerveler
- endoctriner
- faire de l’intox(e) à
- faire un lavage de cerveau à
- intoxiquer
- laver le cerveau de
Related lessons
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