fish – Fast French

Poisson d’avril

ByFast French February 28, 2023May 25, 2023

The French idiom “poisson d’avril” literally means “fish of April”, which sounds meaningless and nonsensical. But in fact it refers to the name of any April Fool’s Day joke or prank, carried out on the 1st April in any year. It was first used towards the end of the 17th century, because the word “poisson”…

Sayings & Expressions

finir en queue de poisson

ByFast French November 29, 2022May 25, 2023

“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…