FrenchAvoir la grosse tête
Meaning: Being arrogant, conceited, or thinking highly of oneself.
Literally: To have a big head
Example: “Depuis qu'il est passé à la télé, il a un peu la grosse tête.” — Ever since he was on TV, he's gotten a bit of a big head.
English equivalent: To have a big head
Origin: Said to come from carnival tradition, where processions were led by géants — enormous puppet figures carried on a bearer's shoulders, topped with an oversized mask meant to announce the figure's importance at a glance. Carnivals of this kind doubled as license to mock the powerful, so a grotesquely large head paraded at the front of the procession was as much a joke at the expense of self-important men as it was a mark of status. The link is traditional rather than documented, but the image — importance swelling the head — is plain enough either way.
Other ways to say this
- French: Avoir le melon Literally: To have the melon
Estonian: Nina püsti käima Literally: To walk with your nose up
Albanian: I rri gjel dikujt Literally: He stands like a rooster to someone
Swedish: styv i korken Literally: Stiff in the cork
English: too big for one's britches- French: Se croire sorti de la cuisse de Jupiter Literally: To think oneself born from Jupiter's thigh
- French: Se croire le premier moutardier du pape Literally: To think oneself the pope's chief mustard-maker
- English: have a big head
More French idioms
- Tremper son biscuit To have sex (vulgar slang).
- Faire un bide Experiencing complete failure or lack of success.
- Crier sur les toits To announce something loudly and publicly, for everyone to hear.
- Faire un poisson d'avril To play an April Fools' prank on someone.
- Être une girouette Being inconsistent, constantly changing opinions or allegiances.
- Faire la soupe à la grimace To sulk; to give someone a sour, unwelcoming face, especially at home.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Didon dîna, dit-on, du dos d'un dodu dindon dont le dodu dos dodine. A 'd' / 'din' / 'dod' avalanche that seems designed to jam the tongue in third gear.
- Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. The classic French 'ch' / 's' tangler.
- Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.
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