If You Know These 15 Idioms, Your French is SUPERB

Did you write down your answers to the first part? Let’s see how well you did, then!

Intermediate:
1 – B) “T’as eu les yeux plus gros que le ventre.” = You overestimated your capacity. Literally means “your eyes were bigger than your stomach” (=“Biting off more than you can chew.”)
We use it when we ordered more food than we could eat – in France, it’s not really polite to leave some food on your plate. We also use that expression as an image, for someone who got too ambitious for their own good, for example.

2 – A) “Ça part en cacahuète” = It’s going off the rails, it’s going sideways. Literally “It’s going peanuts,” a playful version of “Ça part en vrille” (= it’s going sideways), alongside other versions with more rude swear words. The French word “cacahuète” (peanut) sounds funny on its own, so I like this expression.

3 – C) “C’est pas la mer à boire.” = It’s not that hard. Literally, “It’s not the sea to drink.” Yeah, most problems aren’t as hard as literally drinking the whole sea, so “stop dramazing / c’est pas la mer à boire” – we can say it to reassure someone about their capacity, or to chide them for exaggerating their problems.

4 – B) “Il m’a posé un lapin” = He stood me up. Literally “putting a rabbit to someone” (unclear if it’s on top of them, or in front of them, or something else.) It’s mostly used for dating, but it works for any kind of meeting or appointment. I hope you won’t have to use this idiom when visiting France!

5 – C) “Julien s’est pris un rateau.” = Julien got rejected romantically. Literally “take a rake (to the face)” It stings! But like getting hit by a rake, the pain will fade away soon – hopefully.

Advanced:
6 – B) “J’ai un (gros) coup de barre.” = I’m really tired. Literally, “getting hit by a (metal) bar.” You’re suddenly so tired that you can’t really get up, you want to close your eyes and lie down. French people often use it a few hours after lunch, obviously. Notice that it’s not about “Il s’est barré” (= “He left”, slang), or “Il est complètement barré.” (= “He’s really crazy”, slang), or, you know, Raymond Barre.

7 – A) “Ça casse pas trois pattes à un canard” = It’s not too special. Literally “It doesn’t break three legs to a duck.” Indeed, if it did manage to break three legs on a duck, it would be very special – but no, instead it’s quite simple, pretty mediocre.
Like: “Bon, l’expo est sympa, mais ça casse pas trois pattes à un canard.”
= Well, that’s a nice exhibit but it’s not something really mind-blowing either.

8 – C) “Ça ne mange pas de pain.” = It’s low risk, why not give it a try? Literally “It doesn’t eat any bread” – so you feel that there’s no cost in trying. By the way, we also have two well-known culinary expressions for “the situation is hopeless” : “Les carottes sont cuites” (= Carrots are well-cooked) and “C’est la fin des haricots !” (= It’s the end of the beans!)

9 – B) “C’est du pipeau.” = It’s bogus, it’s all a lie. Literally, “It’s just a piccolo.” The person is playing a nice music to your ear but it’s all made up on the spot, and will leave nothing when it stops. We also say “C’est bidon !” = “It’s a can.”

10 – A) “Mon œil !” = I don’t believe it, or “Yeah, right.” Literally “my eye.” As if to say, “I’d believe it if I saw it but for now I think it’s a lie, and that you’re playing “du pipeau” !” We sometimes use “Mon œil” while placing a finger under on eye, as if to open it wide, for more theatrics.

Expert:
11 – A) “Elle est complètement à l’ouest” = She’s not keeping up at all. Literally “She’s totally to the West.” – or metaphorically, totally lost, like so wrong you’re not even on the map. People from Western France, like Normandy or Brittany, sometimes complain about using this expression!

12 – C) “Débarquer comme une fleur” = Showing up unprepared, literally “showing up like a flower.” As if you just woke up, fresh and smiling, into a thorny situation – as if everything is normal and easy. You might also hear “comme si de rien n’était.” – “as if nothing was happening,” a bit more formal.

13 – A) “Et la marmotte, elle met le chocolat dans le papier d’alu.” = I don’t believe you. Literally: “And the marmot wraps the chocolat in the aluminum foil.” OK, this one needs context. I’d be impressed if you knew about it. It’s the famous punchline in “une pub, une publicité” (= an ad) from the late 90s.
Is this expression still widely used today? Probably not. I know I could use it and my friends would understand – but younger people would probably look at me with a weird look.
But that’s the point: real spoken French is a living thing that is difficult to keep in a textbook. It changes depending on who you’re talking to, and it’s influenced by many things, including popular movies, catchy songs, comedians, and, yes, the viral lines from la publicité.

14 – C) “Au poil” = perfect. “Un poil” means “a strand of body hair”, and it’s a funny word on its own, like “cacahuète” before. “Au poil” means “C’est parfait”, that’s perfect, as if every little thing was taken care of. In the same vein, I like the expressions “aux petits oignons”, literally “with little onions”, meaning “done with care and attention.”
But the real key here is: don’t mistake “au poil” with “à poil”, which does mean “tout(e) nu(e)”- naked!

15 – B) “Comme sur des roulettes” = Running flawlessly. Literally “as if on little wheels” – so it’s easy to move, it could almost run on its own. Just like “poil” and “cacahuète”, “comme sur des roulettes” has a funny rhythm in its pronunciation. And you just think about your big abstract situation – swooshing around on little wheels.