Le mot du jour : “Ça ne mange pas de pain !”That expression, still in use today, goes back to the 17th century. Its word-for-word translation would be “that doesn’t eat bread” and its meaning is along the lines of “it’s not big deal” or “there is no harm in it”. It all goes back …
Author archives: Anne
Avoir du pain sur la planche
Le mot du jour : “avoir du pain sur la planche”. And yes, another one about bread! So this one, “avoir du pain sur la planche” (to have bread on the board) means to have a lot to do. It could be compared to “to have a lot on your plate”.It refers to the fact …
Pour une bouchée de pain
Le mot du jour : “Pour une bouchée de pain”Today, we’ll carry on with expressions about bread, because it’s so present in French life that you can find it everywhere in the language too. “Pour une bouchée de pain” (for a bite of bread) means for a very low price. It comes from a time …
Long comme un jour sans pain
Le mot du jour : “Long comme un jour sans pain”Or, in English “as long as a day without bread”. That’s the feeling I had this morning when I entered the kitchen and realised there was no bread left for breakfast 😱 We use this expression when we want to talk about something that lasts …
Se mélanger les pinceaux
Le mot du jour : “se mélanger les pinceaux”“se mélanger les pinceaux” can be translated by “to mix up the paintbrushes” so it means to get confused about something. I always thought it was about real paintbrushes getting all muddled up in a pot for example, but it’s not that at all, as it turns …
Poser un lapin
Le mot du jour : poser un lapinI am going to stay in the animal world this week with this expression that could be translated by “to put down a rabbit” but in fact means “to not show up at a rendez-vous without warning”I looked up to find the roots of the sentence and there …
Quand les poules auront des dents
Le mot du jour : “Quand les poules auront des dents”Quand les poules auront des dents (when hens have teeth) means that something has no chance to happen.I think it can be compared to the british “when pigs fly” : same idea, different animals 🙂That expression popped into my mind when I was looking at …
Rouler dans la farine
Le mot du jour : “rouler dans la farine”I was thinking of this expression the other day when I was in the shop looking everywhere for a little bit of “farine” (flour).The expression has nothing to do with the disappearance of flour but means “to trick someone” and can be translated into “to roll in …
Panier percé
Le mot du jour : “panier percé” If you are a “panier percé” (i.e a basket full of holes), it means that you spend your money irresponsibly, like someone who doesn’t check the state of their basket before carrying food in it. 🙂 You can also find this idea in the expression “faire valser l’anse …
Cloche de Pâques
Le mot du jour : Cloche de PâquesUne cloche de Pâques is an Easter bell, usually made of chocolate. There is no Easter Bunny in France. Instead, we have the church bell, which, after being silent for the whole Holy Week, goes back to work at midnight on the Saturday night (or Sunday very early …