There is an interesting paper in Times by Charles Bermner about French clichés found in the French press: here are the top fifteen, with their English equivalent…
— la cerise sur le gâteau [the cherry on the cake, icing]
— dans la cour des grands [the big kids’ playground, the big league]
— le vent en poupe [running before the wind, with the wind in the sails]
— un pavé dans la mare [a cobblestone in the pond, set the cat among the pigeons]
— caracoler en tête [to prance in the lead, to be far out front]
— attendu au tournant [awaited at the bend, lying in wait for someone]
— revoir sa copie [revise his (exam) copy, sent back to the drawing board]
— l’ironie de l’histoire [the irony of the story, ironically]
— la balle est dans leur camp [the ball is in their court]
— ne connaît pas la crise [has not been touched by the crisis]
–la partie émergée de l’iceberg [the tip of the iceberg]
— à qui profite le crime [who profits from the crime?]
— les quatre coins de l’Hexagone [the four corners of the Hexagon, i.e. France]
— s’enfoncer dans la crise [plunge deeper into (the) crisis]
— une affaire à suivre [a matter to be followed, a story to watch],
