French Food Idioms

French Food Idioms Food is a very important subject in France. We always discuss food, especially when we are eating! The French also commonly use some hilarious food-based idioms which would be quite difficult to guess if you didnt know them.   1 - French Food Idiom: Avoir un Coeur dArtichaut To Have an Artichoke Heart   To be Very Sensitive This means to be very sensitive. To cry easily. Maybe because when cooked, the artichoke heart becomes soft, although the artichoke itself has pricks. So the heart is well hidden under prickly leaves, just like someone hiding his sensitive side. This idiom goes well with another one: à ªtre un dur cuir - to be hard to cook to be a tough guy. Pierre a lair dà ªtre un dur cuir, mais en fait, il a un vrai coeur dartichaut.Pierre looks like a tough guy, but in reality he is really sensitive. 2 - French Food Idiom: Raconter des Salades To Tell Salads   To tell long tales, lies Arrà ªte de dire nimporte quoi : je sais bien que tu racontes des salades !Stop speaking nonsense: I know you are lying! 3 - French Food Idiom: Ramener sa Fraise To Bring Back Your Strawberry   To Impose When Not Wanted La fraise - strawberry is a long time synonym for face. So ramener sa fraise means to show up, to impose yourself when not expected / invited. Regarde ! Voil Jean ! Celui-l, il ramà ¨ne toujours sa fraise au moment du dà ®ner. Comme cest bizarre.Look! Here comes Jean! This guy, he always shows up at dinner time. How Strange... 4 - Avoir La frite / la pche / la banane / la patate To have the French-fry / the peach / the banana / the potato   To Feel Great We have many idioms to say to feel great. These four words are interchangeable and very commonly used in French. Je ne sais pas comment tu fais pour avoir la pà ªche le matin. Moi, je suis toujours creuvà ©e.I dont know how to do to be full of energy in the morning. Myself, Im always exhausted. 5 - En Faire Tout un Fromage To Make a Whole Cheese Out of It.   To Make a Mountain Out of a Molehill Ça suffit ! Je me suis dà ©j excusà ©e : arrà ªte den faire tout un fromage !Enough! I already said I was sorry: stop making a mountain out of a molehill! 6 - Les Carottes sont Cuites = Cest la fin des Haricots The carrots are cooked/its the end of the beans.   There is no More hope. This must be one of the most obscure French idioms. Even so that it is said that les carottes sont cuites was used as a code during the war. In any case, both these idioms may be explained by the fact that the food they refer to carrots and beans are cheap, and are the last resort food. If there is none left, its starvation. Thats why they are linked to lost hope. Cest fini, la France a perdu. Les carottes sont cuites.Its the end, France lost. There is no more hope. 7 - Mle-toi de Tes Oignons ! Mix with Your Own Onions   Mind Your Own Business Apparently, â€Å"les oignons† is a familiar term for â€Å"les fesses† (buttocks) due to their round shape. The expression â€Å"occupe-toi de tes fesses† being a bit vulgar, but very used as well. We also say mà ªle-toi / occupe-toi de tes affaires which is an exact translation of mind your own business. Alors, c’est vrai ce que j’ai entendu ? Tu sors avec Bà ©atrice maintenant ?Is it true what I’ve heard? You’re going out with Beatrice now? Mà ªle-toi de tes oignons !  Mind your own business! ​More About the French onion