Chat échaudé craint l'eau froide
Meaning: One bad experience makes you wary even where there is no danger.
Language: French
Literally: A scalded cat fears cold water
Category: Animals
Origin: The point is the overcorrection — the cat has learned to fear water rather than heat, which is more caution than the lesson warranted. English keeps the same shape in once bitten, twice shy.
More idioms — Animals
- 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.
- Un mauvais coucheur — A cantankerous, difficult person.
- Ronger son frein — To wait in barely contained impatience.
More French idioms
- 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.
- Mettre de l'eau dans son vin — To moderate one's demands or soften one's position.
From our compliments & insults
- Tu as de la répartie — You're brilliantly quick-witted — always ready with the perfect comeback.
- T'as pas inventé le fil à couper le beurre — You're not exactly a genius — the wire to cut butter is about the most obvious tool imagi…
- Tête de mule — An impossibly stubborn person who refuses to change their mind no matter what.
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