IdiomAnimals
French
FrenchAvoir les portugaises ensablées
Meaning: To be hard of hearing.
Literally: To have one's Portuguese oysters silted up
Example: “Parle plus fort, mon grand-père a les portugaises ensablées.” — Speak up; my grandfather is deaf as a post.
English equivalent: Deaf as a post
Equivalents in other languages
English: deaf as a post
Origin: Portugaise is a variety of oyster, and its shape gave French a slang word for the ear. Silting is what happens to an oyster bed that stops being productive, which is the state being attributed to the ear.
More French idioms
- Cracher dans la soupe To disparage the thing that sustains you.
- Trempé comme une soupe Drenched to the skin.
- Payer rubis sur l'ongle To pay in full, immediately and to the last penny.
- Faire avancer le schmilblick To make actual progress on something.
- Avaler des poires d'angoisse To endure something bitterly painful.
- En cinq sec In no time at all.
Explore another collection: False Friends
Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.
Keep exploring