FrenchAvoir de la tchatche
Meaning: To be talkative and persuasive, to have the gift of gab.
Literally: To have some tchatche
Example: “Avec la tchatche qu'il a, il pourrait vendre des glaçons à un pingouin.” — With the gift of gab he has, he could sell ice to a penguin.
English equivalent: To have the gift of gab
Equivalents in other languages
Spanish: pico de oro Literally: Beak of gold
Dutch: niet op zijn mond gevallen zijn Literally: To not have fallen on one's mouth
English: the gift of gab
Origin: Tchatche came into French from the speech of the pieds-noirs, the European settlers of French Algeria. Where they got it is less certain, and even one dictionary gives two answers: the La langue française dictionary derives tchatche from Spanish chacharear (to chatter) or Occitan chacharronear (to chat), while its entry for the verb tchatcher points instead to Spanish cháchara (lively but idle talk). The word spread through colloquial French, where tchatche is the gift of the gab and tchatcher is to chat away.
More French idioms
- Tomber à l’eau To be canceled or abandoned.
- Ne plus savoir où donner de la tête To be overwhelmed with work or demands.
- Avoir les yeux qui sortent de la tête To stare with eyes wide open in anger or astonishment.
- Faire le pont-levis For a horse to rear up very high.
- Faire baiser les verges To force someone you have mistreated to beg your pardon.
- Retourner l’estomac To disgust or sicken someone, to make them feel nauseous.
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