FrenchÊtre de mauvais poil
Meaning: To be in a bad mood or irritable disposition.
Literally: To be of bad hair
Example: “Ne lui demande rien avant son café, il est de mauvais poil.” — Don't ask him anything before his coffee; he's in a foul mood.
English equivalent: Like a bear with a sore head
Other ways to say this
Spanish: Tener mala leche Literally: To have bad milk- French: N'être pas à prendre avec des pincettes Literally: Not to be picked up with tongs
English: like a bear with a sore head
Origin: Poil is body hair and also an animal's coat, and French has long tied it to temperament: in the 16th century changer de poil meant changing one's attitude or character. Expressio suggests the link is visibility, hair being the first thing one notices about a person, just as a mood is. Être de mauvais poil itself appears only in the first half of the 19th century, along with its opposite, être de bon poil.
More French idioms
- Être à ramasser à la petite cuiller To be completely exhausted, utterly without strength.
- Casser le nez à coups d’encensoir To offer someone clumsy, exaggerated, and insincere flattery to their face.
- Péter la balloune (Quebec French) To cause deep disappointment; to shatter someone's illusions or hopes.
- Être du propre Used ironically to criticize something as morally or physically filthy.
- Remuer ciel et terre To exert all possible effort and use every available means to achieve a goal.
- Faire dresser l’oreille To catch someone's attention or spark their interest.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.
- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. An 's' / 'si' minefield.
- Dans ta tente ta tante t'attend. A gentle 'ta / ten / tan / t'' warm-up that sounds faster than it reads.
Keep exploring