La tentation de Venise

ByFast French

“La tentation de Venise” means “to have itchy feet.” Literally, it means “the temptation of Venice.” It refers to the temptation to dedicate yourself to other things, to change your life. This is a very recent expression dating from around the start of the 21st century. It comes from the title of a 1993 book written by the French politician Alain Juppé. It relates to his sometime desire to escape from the harsh limelight of the political world, to a less stressful life doing other things. Apparently he has yet to succumb to this temptation, since he remains a politician as of the date of this blog entry, almost 30 years later.

Don’t miss out on new posts – subscribe now!

Don’t miss new articles!

Get 1 email a week with new articles about French

We don’t spam! Read more in our privacy policy

Similar Posts

  • |

    comme

    ByFast French

    The French word “comme” can function either as an adverb or as a conjunction. Adverb As an adverb, “comme” means “how.” Another word that is used similarly is “que.” Conjunction Comme as a conjunction can mean “as” or “like.” Idiomatic expressions Etymology: The word “comme” comes from the Latin word “quam.” In Old French, it…

  • Blanchir de l’argent

    ByFast French

    “Blanchir de l’argent” is a French expression meaning “to launder money.” Literally it means to whiten or to whitewash money, but in English you would say to launder. Just like the English expression, “blanchir de l’argent” means to give illegally gained money a valid, legal existence by hiding its criminal origins. This is done in…

  • semaine des quatre jeudis

    ByFast French

    A “semaine des quatre jeudis” means “never,” “something impossible,” “something that will never happen.” Literally it means “a week with four Thursdays,” implying that Friday and therefore the weekend will never come. This expression is quite old, having been around since the end of the 15th century, when it was known as “la semaine à…

  • Faire tintin

    ByFast French

    “Faire tintin” means to be frustrated or deprived, to receive nothing when you were expecting something. Despite the illustration above, this saying has nothing to do with the comic book character Tintin. He was created in 1929, but the word “tintin” dates back to the 13th century. It originally referred to the noise of objects…