IdiomBody & Senses
French
FrenchAvoir la main verte
Meaning: To have a gift for growing plants.
Literally: To have a green hand
Example: “Mon voisin a la main verte : ses tomates font envie à tout le quartier.” — My neighbor has a green thumb: his tomatoes are the envy of the neighborhood.
English equivalent: To have a green thumb
Equivalents in other languages
English: green thumb
Origin: The green is what rubs off on the hands of someone constantly handling stems and leaves. English says green fingers or a green thumb from the same stain.
More French idioms
- Une lapalissade A statement so obvious it is comic — a truism.
- Prendre des vessies pour des lanternes To be grossly deceived about something.
- Être piqué de la tarentule To be seized by frantic, uncontrollable agitation.
- Tonnerre de Brest ! An exclamation of astonishment or annoyance.
- En voiture, Simone ! Right then, off we go.
- Une tempête dans un verre d'eau A great commotion over something trivial.
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'.
Keep exploring