Chercher midi à quatorze heures
Meaning: To overcomplicate a simple matter.
Language: French
Literally: To look for noon at two in the afternoon
Category: The Absurd
Origin: 17th century in its current wording, after older versions that searched for noon at eleven o'clock, or simply si loin (so far away). Nobody has ever produced a convincing reason for the number fourteen, or the eleven that came before it — noon at least has the excuse of being the day's one unmistakable, universally agreed moment, which only sharpens the joke of hunting for it at a time it plainly is not. One theory reaches for an 18th-century Italian custom of counting the day's 24 hours from sunset rather than midnight, so that on a twelve-hour dial noon and 2pm could never coincide — but even that is offered as a guess, not an answer.
Equivalents in other languages
- Spanish: Buscarle tres pies al gato — literally: To look for three feet on the cat
More idioms — The Absurd
- se battre contre les moulins à vent — Fighting a hopeless battle against something immovable or pointless.
- prendre ses rêves pour des réalités — Confusing fantasy with reality; living in delusion.
- tirer les vers du nez — Getting someone to reveal information they want to keep secret.
- faire un bide — Experiencing complete failure or lack of success.
- faire un couac — Making an embarrassing mistake or producing a discordant sound.
- estar en la luna de Valencia — Completely distracted or absent-minded, oblivious to what's happening around you.
More French idioms
- Appeler un chat un chat — To call things by their proper name; to speak bluntly.
- Donner sa langue au chat — To give up trying to guess the answer.
- Avoir un poil dans la main — To be extremely lazy.
- Prendre ses jambes à son cou — To run away very fast.
- C'est la croix et la bannière — It is an enormous effort or ordeal.
- Faire la fine bouche — To be overly picky or hard to please.
From our proverbs
- A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step — Great accomplishments start with small beginnings.
- The bigger they are, the harder they fall — Powerful people suffer greater consequences when they fail.
- Walk softly and carry a big stick — Act gently but maintain the power to enforce if needed.