IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchÊtre à ramasser à la petite cuiller
Meaning: To be completely exhausted, utterly without strength.
Literally: To be fit to be picked up with a small spoon
Example: “Après le marathon, j'étais à ramasser à la petite cuiller.” — After the marathon, I was completely wiped out.
English equivalent: To be dead on one's feet
Equivalents in other languages
English: dead on one's feet
Origin: The picture is of someone so worn out or broken that they have gone to pieces, or even to liquid, and could only be scooped up with a teaspoon. No source dates the phrase; it belongs to colloquial 20th-century French and is used of exhaustion, of collapse after bad news, and of anyone flattened by a hard day.
More French idioms
- Casser le nez à coups d’encensoir To offer someone clumsy, exaggerated, and insincere flattery to their face.
- Se casser la figure To fall to the ground; to have an accident or suffer a collapse.
- Péter la balloune (Quebec French) To cause deep disappointment; to shatter someone's illusions or hopes.
- Remuer ciel et terre To exert all possible effort and use every available means to achieve a goal.
- Joindre le geste à la parole To back up what you say with action; to keep your promises.
- Faire dresser l’oreille To catch someone's attention or spark their interest.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
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- Il y a un commencement à tout Everything has to start somewhere; first attempts are allowed to be clumsy.
- Trop de zèle gâte tout Too much eagerness ruins things.
- Mieux vaut être tête de chien que queue de lion It is better to lead something small than to follow in something great.
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