Comme un poisson dans l'eau
Meaning: Completely at ease in one's element.
Language: French
Literally: Like a fish in water
Category: Animals
Origin: The comparison is old enough to appear in Rabelais, and its force is that the fish is not merely comfortable but unable to be anywhere else. English says like a duck to water, which is about taking to something rather than belonging in it.
More idioms — Animals
- Tuer la poule aux œufs d'or — To destroy a source of steady profit out of greed for all of it at once.
- Écrire un poulet à quelqu'un — To send a love letter.
- À la queue leu leu — In single file, one behind another.
- Avoir la queue entre les jambes — To slink off humiliated.
- Manger à tous les râteliers — To take advantage from all sides at once, with no loyalty to any.
- Une bête de somme — Someone worked relentlessly at heavy, thankless labor.
More French idioms
- Se faire prendre pour un pigeon — To be duped as an easy mark.
- Avoir les portugaises ensablées — To be hard of hearing.
- Laid comme un pou — Extremely ugly.
- Le plancher des vaches — Dry land, as seen from the sea.
- Secouer comme un prunier — To shake someone violently.
- Le marchand de sable est passé — The children are getting sleepy.
From our tongue twisters
- Seize chaises sèches sur seize arches sèches. — A relentless collision of 'sei', 'sèch', and 's' — the tongue can't find traction.
- Un beau ver vert dans un verre vert verra un ver vert. — Ver (worm), vert (green), and verre (glass) are near-homophones — distinguishing them at…
- Didon dîna, dit-on, du dos d'un dodu dindon dont le dodu dos dodine. — A 'd' / 'din' / 'dod' avalanche that seems designed to jam the tongue in third gear.
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