
IdiomDaily Life
French
Brut de décoffrage
Meaning: Rough, unpolished, delivered without any finishing.
Literally: Raw from the formwork
Example: “Son humour est un peu brut de décoffrage, mais il a bon cœur.” — His humor is a bit rough around the edges, but he has a good heart.
English equivalent: Rough around the edges
Equivalents in other languages
English: rough around the edges
Origin: Concrete is poured into wooden formwork and emerges bearing its grain and joints, before any smoothing. Applied to a person or a piece of work, it means presented exactly as it came out.
More French idioms
- S'aplatir comme une carpette To grovel; to let oneself be walked over.
- Rester sur le carreau To be knocked out of the running; to be left for dead.
- Rouler carrosse To live in grand style.
- Donner carte blanche To grant someone complete freedom to act as they see fit.
- Tourner casaque To switch sides or change allegiance.
- Retourner sa veste To change one's allegiance opportunistically.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- Chaque chose en son temps Deal with things one at a time, when the right moment comes.
- À chacun son goût Everyone has their own preferences, and that's fine.
- C'est dans les vieux pots qu'on fait la meilleure soupe Experience, and older people, often do things best.
Keep exploring