Arriver comme un cheveu sur la soupe
Meaning: To show up at a completely inopportune, awkward moment.
Language: French
Literally: To arrive like a hair in the soup
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: Soupe stands here for food in general, and the metaphor needs no unpacking: nobody wants to find a hair on their plate. What is interesting is which half of the disgust the expression actually carries. Not the uncleanliness, which would be the obvious reading, but the sheer incongruity — the wrong thing, in the wrong place, at the worst possible moment, with the hostess looking on as she sets the plate down. The current wording is attested only from the very start of the 20th century, though a plural variant is recorded a century earlier.
More idioms — Food & Drink
- hash slinger — A cook or server in a cheap restaurant, often regarded as rude or inattentive.
- sugarcoat the pill — To make something unpleasant more palatable or easier to accept.
- flavor of the week — A person or thing that receives intense attention or popularity for a brief period before…
- long pork — Human flesh, especially as food.
- bad apple — A person of bad character whose presence corrupts or damages others or a group.
- of the same leaven — Of the same nature, character, or type; alike.
More French idioms
- Jeter le bébé avec l'eau du bain — To discard something valuable while getting rid of what's unwanted.
- C'est l'hôpital qui se fout de la charité — Said when someone criticizes another for a flaw they share themselves; the pot calling th…
- allonger pour le compte — To knock someone out in a boxing match; to fell someone.
- avancer masqué — To act in a hidden or anonymous way, concealing one's intentions or identity.
- passer un savon — To scold or rebuke someone harshly.
- tenir du miracle — To be exceptional or extraordinary; to have a miraculous quality.
From our proverbs
- Everything hath an end, and a pudding hath two. — Even desserts that seem endless eventually conclude, and some things finish twice—once ea…
- He that endureth is not overcome. — Persistence through hardship defeats adversity that would crush the impatient or those wh…
- England is the Paradise of women. — Women historically enjoyed greater legal protections, property rights, and social freedom…
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