IdiomBody & Senses
French
FrenchGriller les neurones
Meaning: To fry one's brain; to damage or wear out one's mental faculties.
Literally: To burn out the neurons
Example: “Toutes ces heures devant les écrans vont te griller les neurones.” — All those hours in front of screens are going to rot your brain.
English equivalent: To rot one's brain
Equivalents in other languages
English: rot one's brain
Origin: Modern slang built on the image of the brain as an electrical circuit: too much current or heat and the components burn out. It belongs to the same family as péter les plombs (to blow the fuses) and is said of anything that exhausts or scrambles the mind, from screens to exams.
More French idioms
- Remettre en selle To help someone recover a former position or regain their footing after a setback.
- Prendre des gants To handle a delicate matter with great tact and care to avoid offending someone.
- Remettre en train To restart or reactivate something that has stopped or slowed down.
- Vendre chèrement sa peau To defend oneself fiercely and make a determined stand against those trying to kill you.
- C'est la fin des haricots It's all over; there's no hope left.
- Le dindon de la farce The dupe — the victim of a trick who ends up everyone's laughingstock.
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