IdiomAnimals
French
FrenchBayer aux corneilles
Meaning: To stand around idly, staring into space.
Literally: To gape at the crows
Example: “Au lieu de réviser, il passe ses après-midi à bayer aux corneilles.” — Instead of studying, he spends his afternoons twiddling his thumbs.
English equivalent: To twiddle one's thumbs
Equivalents in other languages
Japanese: 油を売る (Abura ouru) Literally: To sell oil
Romanian: A freca menta Literally: To rub the mint
Italian: Stare con le mani in mano Literally: To stand with your hands in your hand
Russian: Бить баклуши (Bit' baklushi) Literally: To beat the baklushi
Filipino: Nagbibilang ng poste Literally: Counting the posts
English: twiddle one's thumbs
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 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.
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