The French and their funny sayings
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- “Oh la vache!” – Literally translates as: “Oh the cow!” but means “Oh my goodness!”
- “Apporter des oranges” (bringing oranges) – Signifies visiting someone in prison or in hospital
- “Le chien qui se mord la queue” (the dog biting its tail) – Used to describe a vicious cycle or a never ending situation
- “Parler français comme une vache espagnole” (Speaking French like a Spanish cow) – we love our cows in France – basically means that someone’s French is awful
- “Fort comme un turc” (as strong as a Turk) – Somebody very strong, vigorous, sturdy and hearty
- “Fendre la bise” (to slit the breeze) – Somebody or something very, very fast – hence invention of the TGV, the French high speed train?
- “C’est pas du flan” (this is no custard) – To face someone/something really tough – something similar was heard during the recent French elections
- “Avoir la gueule de bois” (to have a face of wood) – To be hungover
- “Avoir un ticket” (to have a ticket) – Somebody likes you
- “Ça ne mange pas de pain” (it doesn’t eat bread) – It’s not worth it, often used when talking about a mediocre film
- “Filer à l’anglaise” (escape the English way) – To leave like a traitor or coward