checking vocabulary

[alan gould]

the following are vocab i put in a notebook to study while i'm on the bus or walking.  these i want to check:

1) provoke -- faire réagir or provoquer

2) to topple a gov't, bring down sales -- faire chuter

3) obviously - manifestement (versus évidemment) 

4) to show off -- craner, frimer, parader, faire parader

5) these complaints are groundless - ces critiques or plaintes n'ont pas lieu d'etre

my first thought would b "sont sans fondation"

6) sugarcoat - dorer la pilule

i don't see how to use this one.  sugarcoat is a verb so u say "he's trying to sugarcoat the news".  but in french, u're saying "dorer la pilule" so i don't see how u can say "dorer la pilule les infos."

[Chantal Savignat]

1) provoke -- faire réagir or provoquer ok

2) to topple a gov't, bring down sales -- faire chuter - faire tomber - for a govt "renverser" is more used.

3) obviously - manifestement (versus évidemment) ok

4) to show off -- craner, frimer, parader, faire parader : I don't know. these words = a man in a magnificient red ferrari with a beautiful woman and he is driving near the beach before a lot of people to make them envious.

5) these complaints are groundless - ces critiques or plaintes n'ont pas lieu d'etre

my first thought would b "sont sans fondation" => sont sans fondation fondement

most often heard : critique/n'ont pas lieu d'être and plaintes/sans fondement

Ces critiques n'ont pas lieu d'être

Ces plaintes sont sans fondement

6) sugarcoat - dorer la pilule

dorer la pilule has many meanings :

the first one is "to give the impression that something is better than it is"  I think it's your "he's trying to sugarcoat the news".but we don't use "dorer la pilule" in this meaning. I think I never heard that.

This expression is only heard in the next way : being on holidays on a sunny beach somewhere. 

Où est Max ? il se dore la pilule dans le sud.

I don't know exactly what "sugarcoat" means.

édulcorer - ils ont édulcoré les informations = they present news as softer or lighter  than they are.

tronquer - ils ont tronqué les nouvelles = they remove some parts of the news.

[alan gould]

2) "renverser" is USED MORE or more common.    

4) there's a noun -- a show off.  he's a show off.  don't b a show off.  i remember being in a hostel garden.  there were maybe 20 people.  a girl thought nothing of singing at full volume in a bluesy operatic style the song "summertime."  she had a nice voice, but she had a nerve to force everyone to listen to her.  someone could have just looked at her and said "show off " w a look of disdain.  then as a verb they could have said "i don't need her to show off, she's not even that good."  

6) sugarcoat is an important word for adults.  if u follow the news, u'll say china or trump is trying to sugarcoat the virus.  it's similar to whitewash.  but whitewash is trying to remove evidence.  it's a good word cuz it's based on a painter painting over something so u won't see what was there before.  it's a noun -- "what a whitewash" but more often a verb -- "i like the way they've whitewashed their collaboration w the nazis."  israel is accused of a new word -- "pink washing."  it has a very large gay pride parade and is very tolerant.  so israel bashers will say israel touts its gay tolerance to whitewash its treatment of the palestinians.  it's a case of pinkwashing.