This French idiom means literally, “the English have disembarked.” From 1815 to 1820, the English Army, wearing their traditional red uniforms, occupied France in their war against Napoléon. After they left, Parisians started using this phrase to mean, “to have her period,” since the flow of unwelcome English invaders wearing red coats resembled red menstrual blood.
“Avoir d’autres chats à fouetter” means literally “to have other cats to whip.” But in English, this would translate to “to have other fish to fry” or “to have better/more important things to do.” The origin of this expression is unknown. However other expressions involving whipped cats do exist: “éveillée comme un chat qu’on fouette”…
The French word “la cuiller” means “the spoon.” It can also be spelled “la cuillère,” which is a spelling that more accurately reflects its pronunciation (KWEE YAIR). Both spellings are accepted in modern French. The spelling of “la cuillère” has recently become more popular, however, due to its more logical connection with standard French phonetics…
“Ne tirez pas sur le pianiste !” literally means “Don’t shoot the pianist!” So what does it actually mean? It means to be indulgent towards someone of good will, to not accuse or attack someone who is a scapegoat, rather than the person really responsible. This expression comes from Oscar Wilde, who wrote a booklet…
“mettre les écureuils à pied” means “to cut down trees.” Literally it translates as “to put squirrels on foot,” meaning that if you cut down the trees that the squirrels live in, they will then be obliged to move around on foot, on the ground This saying is rarely used these days but dates back…
The French saying “être mal barré” means “to get off to a bad start,” “to be heading for failure,” or “to get into big trouble.” Literally it translates as “to be badly steered” or “to be badly guided,” in the nautical sense of steering or guiding. “La barre” is the tiller or the helm of…
This expression means “for your information,” “for information,” “in order to teach you how to conduct yourself in a situation,” “to inform you,” or “for information.” The word “gouverne” is related to governing and government. It dates back to the 12th century, but in the 18th century took the meaning of “serving as a rule…