IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchAvoir la bosse de
Meaning: To have a natural gift for something, as in avoir la bosse des maths.
Literally: To have the bump for
Example: “Sa fille a la bosse des maths : elle résout tout de tête.” — Her daughter has a real knack for math: she solves everything in her head.
Origin: From phrenology, the discredited science founded by Franz Joseph Gall around 1800, which held that mental faculties were seated in specific parts of the brain and raised detectable bumps on the skull above them. The science collapsed; the expression did not.
More French idioms
- Rabattre le caquet à quelqu'un To shut someone up; to take an insolent person down a peg.
- Caracoler en tête To lead by a wide margin, especially in a race or in polls.
- Muet comme une carpe Completely silent; saying absolutely nothing.
- La caque sent toujours le hareng However far you rise, low origins always show through.
- Un bouc émissaire A scapegoat — someone blamed for the failings of others.
- Un boute-en-train The life and soul of the party.
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