folly

sottise, folie

Manque de bon sens, notamment quand on ignore les problèmes possibles ou agit sans penser aux conséquences.

En anglais simple : A lack of good judgment, especially when someone ignores likely problems or acts without thinking ahead.

• Going alone would be folly.
• She regretted the follies of her youth.
• The disaster exposed the folly of building on the floodplain.

Comment l'utiliser : it is folly to do something (It is folly to spend money you do not have.); the folly of doing something (He realized the folly of ignoring her advice.)

Synonymes : foolishness, stupidity

Contraires : wisdom

Expressions courantes : sheer folly, the folly of, act of folly

fabrique de jardin, folie

Construction inhabituelle réalisée surtout pour son aspect beau ou intéressant, plutôt que pour une utilité pratique.

En anglais simple : An unusual building made mainly to look interesting or beautiful, rather than for a practical use.

• A stone folly stands in the garden.
• The tower is a folly built to resemble a ruined castle.
• Visitors can walk around the estate's unusual follies.

Expressions courantes : garden folly, ornamental folly, eighteenth-century folly