Rouler (quelqu’un) dans la farine

Hello and welcome again to “Expressions bien de chez nous”! Today you’ll learn what it is to “Rouler dans la farine”. It sounds like fun but messy too…What can it be? “Rouler dans la farine” means… Formed by two main words “rouler” (to roll) and “farine” (flour), one may think it is a child’s game […]

A un de ces quatre! 

When we tell someone “A un de ces quatre” we mean literally “To one of these four” or in proper English “See you around!” or just “See you!”. How can we explain this expression? “Quatre” is a number often used in “expressions imagées”, but we don’t really know why. Some might mention the fact that […]

Garder la tête froide

Hello again and welcome once more to “Expressions bien de chez nous”!    We think that you may have an idea of what this expression means. Maybe the words “tête” et “froide” helped you solve the riddle, since it’s a phrase we use in other languages and that has the same meaning. But first, let’s […]

Rester sur sa faim

“Rester” means “to stay”, “sur” would be “on” and “sa faim” means “your hunger”. Does it tell you something? Does it make you hungry? Don’t stop reading, we hope you won’t stay “sur ta faim”! The meaning of this turn of phrase Yes! You guessed it, we use this expression when we have big expectations […]

Mettre de l’eau dans son vin

France is the country of great food, cheese and of course wine. On important occasions when eating with friends and family, we tend to have some wine. But not only for special events, wine accompanies French people just for the art of tasting and appreciating it.  For this expression we speak of adding “mettre” some […]

Tirer son épingle du jeu

Do you like riddles? Are you skilled at them? Do you have magic skills when it comes to solving mysteries? Prove it by reading this article and deciphering the meaning of this “expression imagée”! The history of the expression There’s the belief that this turn of phrase originated in the XV century with a game. […]

Ne pas être né de la dernière pluie

Now that you have read most of our articles you can say “Je ne suis pas né(e) de la dernière pluie”, since now you’re an expert in this field. Do you want to know where this expression comes from? Keep on reading! The origins of this expression It first appeared in the XX century, so […]

Mettre les pieds dans le plat

During a meal with your friends, one of you has the impertinence of jumping to the table and putting their feet in one of the dishes perfectly decorated with the recently cooked meal. This loony would certainly be ejected from the party! To put your feet in your dish? It sounds disgusting, right? There is […]

Donner du fil à retordre

When you think of twisting threads (retordre du fil), what’s the first image that comes to your mind? Do you think it as a difficult task? Take a minute to try and give a figurative meaning to the phrase “to give someone threads to twist”. What’s the meaning of this phrase? The modern meaning of […]

Ça ne mange pas de pain

Well, here we go again…It doesn’t eat bread?! No, it’s not that. Breath, take it easy and enjoy the ride! What does it mean? When something doesn’t demand a lot of effort, doesn’t have any consequences or doesn’t imply a big risk, we use the expression “Ca ne mange pas de pain”. But, why “bread”? […]