The French idiom “danser devant le buffet” means to have no food or to have nothing to eat. Literally, it translates as “to dance in front of the sideboard.” This expression comes from a play on words dating back to the end of the 18th century. From the 16th to the 18th century, the verb…
“c’est fort de café !” means “it’s over the top!” or simply “it’s too much!”. This idiom is a way of saying something is excessive or exaggerated. It translates literally as “it’s strong of coffee” (or “this coffee is strong!”) and comes from a 17th century expression “c’est trop fort,” meaning literally “it’s too strong,”…
“Finir en queue de poisson” means to end brutally, or to terminate in a disappointing manner, or not to obtain the expected results. It literally means “to end in a fish tail.” Equivalent English expressions would be “to fizzle out” or “to tail off.” The saying dates back to the 1st century BC, to the…
This French expression means “to go window shopping.” However it translates literally as “to do some lick-window.” This phrase comes from the idea that the window shopper is standing so close to the window and gazing in with such pleasure that it looks like she is licking the window. The idiom first appeared in the 20th…
“Les chiens ne font pas des chats” means that kids resemble their parents, that one inherits the behaviour and the tastes of one’s parents, along with their character traits. Literally, it means “dogs don’t make cats,” meaning that dogs give birth to puppies, not kittens. Equivalent expressions in English would be “he’s a chip off…
The word “cloche” means “bell,” but in French slang, it means “head” or sometimes “idiot.” In the middle of the 19th century, this saying meant to get drunk. But by 1900, it had changed to its present meaning, which is to have a good meal, to banquet, to gorge oneself, to thoroughly enjoy (food &…
The French expression “levée de boucliers” literally means a raising of the shields. It dates back to ancient Roman times, when soldiers who opposed the wishes of their generals would raise their shields above their heads as a demonstration of their disapproval. Since the middle of the 15th century, this saying has come to mean…
Une bête de somme means a workhorse or a beast of burden. Back in the 12th century, “une somme” meant the load that a horse or a mule could carry. Then, in the 16th century, the term “bête de somme” arrived. These days, the more common word for burden is “un fardeau,” but the term…
Passer l’éponge means literally to pass the sponge, but in slightly better English it would be to wipe the sponge. The English saying it most closely resembles would be “to wipe the slate clean.” It means to restart from zero, to forgive, or to forget disagreeable acts. The expression dates back to the start of…
An “appel du pied” literally means a “call of the foot” but actually means a discrete invitation, a seduction attempt, an allusive proposal or simply an invitation. Its origin is unknown. There is a related term that exists in the world of fencing with swords, but it doesn’t seem to be linked to this usage….