“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 Latin poet Horace. He compared a disappointing work of art to a beautiful bust of a woman that ends in a fish tail. More recently, in the 19th century, the novelist and playwright Balzac echoed Horace by writing that some streets in Paris, including rue Montmartre, had a beautiful head that finished in a fish tail.

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