Avoir la frite / Avoir la patate
Meaning: To be on great form; to be full of energy.
Language: French
Literally: To have the fry / to have the potato
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: The potato comes first. Early 20th-century slang made patate a word for the head, on the strength of its roundly unflattering shape — poire (pear) had served the same purpose before it. From there a man in good form has a fine patate, by way of a phrase like il a une sacrée patate, and eventually il a la patate: what his head shows is that he is doing well. Frite follows the same road much later. From about 1950 frite joins patate as slang for the head, on the simple joke that fries are made of potatoes, and the expression itself arrives in the 1970s once avoir la patate had prepared the ground.
More idioms — Food & Drink
- En rester comme deux ronds de flan — To be utterly dumbfounded.
- Tomber dans les pommes — Suddenly losing consciousness — possibly derived from the older expression 'être dans les…
- Avoir la moutarde qui monte au nez — To be getting angry.
- Pédaler dans la semoule — To be confused and getting nowhere.
- Raconter des salades — To tell lies or tall tales.
- En faire tout un fromage — To make a big deal out of nothing.
More French idioms
- Il y a de l'eau dans le gaz — Trouble is brewing; a quarrel is on the way.
- Faire du gringue — To chat someone up, insistently.
- Être gonflé / Ne pas manquer d'air — To be recklessly bold — or, said with irritation, to have a great deal of nerve.
- Pas folle, la guêpe ! — Said of someone shrewd enough not to be taken in.
- Tirer au flanc / Tirer au cul — To dodge work; to shirk.
- Ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard — It's nothing special or impressive.
From our proverbs
- Grief pent up will burst the heart. — Unexpressed sorrow accumulates internally until it causes emotional and physical harm.
- The mill cannot grind with the water that is past. — Dwelling on past opportunities wastes energy; focus your effort on present circumstances…
- An unbidden guest must bring his own stool with him. — Uninvited visitors cannot expect hospitality and must accommodate themselves without burd…
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