![]() ![]() In French, the animals strangely become ropes ( cordes). In English, we know this one as ‘it’s raining cats and dogs!’. This expression originated in the 20th century, referring to a fictional person who would go out and buy butter – but expect to return with not only the butter, but the same amount of money in his/her pocket. Concernant la formule qui nous occupe, «poser un lapin» remonte au XIXe siècle. ‘To want the butter and the butter’s silver’ (as it literally translates to in English) is very similar to the well-known (and also, aptly, food-related) idiom ‘to have your cake and eat it’. “J’ai trouvé le discours impossible à suivre la porte-parole sautait du coq à l’âne” (“I found the conversation impossible to follow the spokeswoman jumped from one topic to another”) Vouloir le beurre et l’argent du beurre Literally meaning ‘to jump from the rooster to the donkey’, this fun idiom means ‘to jump from one topic to another’. In French, farmyard animals make it difficult to follow a conversation. Bien sûr, se faire poser un lapin et se faire voler le même soir Being stood up and robbed in the same evening, right On vient de me poser un lapin Ive been stood up. “Silence tout le monde, revenons à nos moutons” (“Quiet everyone, let’s get back on track”) Sauter du coq à l’âne Next time you’re asking someone to mind their own business, why not ask them to watch their own onions instead? Revenons à nos moutonsĪsk your team, or class, to get back to the task at hand by returning to their sheep. For example, telling someone “j’ai le cafard” would literally mean “I have the beetle” (known as ‘the blues’ to Brits). The French make ‘having the blues’ a lot more fun by ‘having the beetle’. “Après avoir passé trois heures à faire mon maquillage, le mec m’a posé un lapin !” (“I spent three hours last night doing my make up, then he gave me a rabbit!”) Avoir le cafard ![]() In French, if you ‘stand someone up’, you ‘poser un lapin à quelqu’un’ (meaning to give someone a rabbit). What will you use in your next dinner party exchange? Poser un lapin à quelqu’un This week, in the wake of the annual European Day of Languages, our Product Development Manager, Alex Peek, explores some classic French idioms. stand up: jtt tulematta, tehd oharit, feidata French: poser un. Every language has its own unique idioms – and there are certainly crossovers among many languages. WordSense Dictionary: lapin - meaning, definition, synonyms, origin. ![]()
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