À vos souhaits
Meaning: Bless you — said when someone sneezes.
Language: French
Literally: To your wishes
Category: The Absurd
Origin: From the belief that a sneeze briefly opened the body to harm, making a wish for the sneezer's protection necessary. French wishes for what you want; English blesses you; the anxiety underneath is the same.
More idioms — The Absurd
- Une vérité de La Palice / 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.
- Ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard — It's nothing special or impressive.
More French idioms
- Pierre qui roule n'amasse pas mousse — Constant movement prevents anything from accumulating.
- Les petits ruisseaux font les grandes rivières — Small contributions accumulate into something substantial.
- Un soleil de plomb — A crushing, oppressive heat.
- Une planche de salut — A last resort; the only remaining hope.
- Sentir le sapin — To be close to death.
- Mettre à pied — To suspend someone from their duties.
From our untranslatable words
- Épanouissement — The full flourishing of a person — blooming into your most complete, radiant self. More t…
- Ressourcement — The act of returning to one's roots or origins to find renewal — going back to a place, t…
- Dépaysement — The disorienting yet often pleasant feeling of being far from home, immersed in the unfam…
Browse all untranslatable words →
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