IdiomBody & Senses
French
FrenchÀ tue-tête
Meaning: At the top of one's voice.
Literally: At kill-head
Example: “Les enfants chantaient à tue-tête dans la voiture.” — The kids were singing at the top of their lungs in the car.
English equivalent: At the top of one's lungs
Equivalents in other languages
Spanish: a todo gañote Literally: At full throat
English: at the top of one's lungs
Origin: Tuer carries its older sense of exhausting or overwhelming rather than killing, so the shouting is loud enough to deafen the head it reaches. The construction is fossilized and appears nowhere else.
More French idioms
- Une lapalissade A statement so obvious it is comic — a truism.
- Prendre des vessies pour des lanternes To be grossly deceived about something.
- Être piqué de la tarentule To be seized by frantic, uncontrollable agitation.
- Tonnerre de Brest ! An exclamation of astonishment or annoyance.
- En voiture, Simone ! Right then, off we go.
- Une tempête dans un verre d'eau A great commotion over something trivial.
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