Mettre la puce à l’oreille

Can you imagine someone putting a flea into your ear? What an unpleasant feeling! Fortunately, it’s just a figure of speech. But, it hasn’t always had the same meaning. The origins of the expression This expression has changed its meaning from century to century. It was first used in the XII century, written like this […]

Chercher midi à quatorze heures

Welcome back to “Expressions bien de chez nous”. Today we bring to you a new expression and since we don’t want to “Chercher midi à quatorze heures”, we’re going to start with revealing the meaning of this turn of phrase. What does it mean? “Chercher” means to search for, “midi” is noon and “quatorze heures” […]

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”? […]

Etre connu comme le loup blanc

To be known like the white wolf? Why do French people use this expression? What does it mean? Does it mean to be known as a dangerous person? Well, if you are not familiar with this and other weird but fascinating French “expressions imagées”, let’s take a quick hop into this article. What does it […]