Bayer aux corneilles
Meaning: To stand around idly, staring into space.
Language: French
Literally: To gape at the crows
Category: Animals
Origin: Bayer is an archaic verb meaning to stand open-mouthed, unrelated to bâiller, to yawn — the two are confused constantly, including in print. Gaping at crows is doing nothing while looking upward at nothing worth looking at.
More idioms — Animals
- Un panier de crabes — A group whose members constantly undermine one another.
- Chat échaudé craint l'eau froide — One bad experience makes you wary even where there is no danger.
- Une faim de loup — Ravenous hunger.
- Tailler des croupières à quelqu'un — To harass an opponent and make life difficult for them.
- Mettre le pied à l'étrier à quelqu'un — To give someone the help they need to get started.
- Gagner ses éperons — To prove oneself and earn recognition.
More French idioms
- Un mauvais coucheur — A cantankerous, difficult person.
- Un cordon-bleu — An outstanding cook.
- Il y a loin de la coupe aux lèvres — Much can still go wrong between intention and result.
- Né avec une cuillère d'argent dans la bouche — Born into wealth and advantage.
- Des économies de bouts de chandelle — Petty economies that save nothing worth having.
- Un étouffe-chrétien — Food so dense and stodgy it is hard to swallow.
From our tongue twisters
- Dans ta tente ta tante t'attend. — A gentle 'ta / ten / tan / t'' warm-up that sounds faster than it reads.
- Seize chaises sèches sur seize arches sèches. — A relentless collision of 'sei', 'sèch', and 's' — the tongue can't find traction.
- Un beau ver vert dans un verre vert verra un ver vert. — Ver (worm), vert (green), and verre (glass) are near-homophones — distinguishing them at…
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