Le mot du jour : “Tiré par les cheveux”
“Tiré par les cheveux” ( litteral translation : “pulled by the hair) is a really weird one, because it’s quite hard to understand the link between the translation and the meaning.
The meaning is “far fetched”. So, let’s say for example that you just read a novel with an overly complicated plot, then you can say : “Oh cette histoire est vraiment tirée par les cheveux !” (That story really is far fetched).
The origin is not clear. It seems that the expression appeared in the 16th century. It may be coming from a kind of torture, where you would attached someone’s hair to a horse, and pull until they confess whatever you wanted them to confess. So maybe it’s because when tortured, you would say anything, even not very credible stories ?
The experts don’t seem to be too sure, but anyway, that expression is still very much used today, so if you are watching a bad TV series for example, don’t hesitate to say “Oh, c’est complètement tiré par les cheveux !”
You will sound very French 😉