IdiomAnimals
French
FrenchCharger la mule
Meaning: To pile on far too much; to overcharge someone.
Literally: To load the mule
Example: “Sur cette facture de garage, ils ont vraiment chargé la mule.” — They really padded that bill at the garage.
Origin: The mule carried whatever it was given until it stopped, which made it the standard measure of an unreasonable load. The commercial sense of overcharging followed from the same image.
More French idioms
- C'est la mer à boire It is an impossible or endless task — most often used in the negative.
- Faire son miel de quelque chose To turn something to one's own advantage.
- La substantifique moelle The essential substance of something, reached only by real effort.
- Refiler la patate chaude To hand an awkward problem to someone else.
- Dans le pétrin In serious trouble.
- Avoir du pain sur la planche To have a great deal of work ahead.
Explore another collection: Compliments & Insults
Compliments and insults from around the world, from the sweet to the savage.
- Espèce de patate You dim bulb — a potato being the very picture of inert, unthinking stodginess.
- Quel râleur / quelle râleuse You never stop moaning — everything is a complaint, nothing is ever good enough.
- Peau de vache A mean, difficult, and unpleasant person — tough and unyielding like tanned hide.
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