FrenchIl y a anguille sous roche
Meaning: Something suspicious is quietly going on beneath the surface.
Literally: There is an eel under the rock
Example: “Ils se taisent dès que j'arrive, il y a anguille sous roche.” — They go quiet as soon as I walk in; something fishy is going on.
English equivalent: Something fishy is going on
Origin: An eel hiding under a rock cannot be seen, but it is there, and it is slippery: something is being concealed. Wiktionnaire dates the phrase to 1563 and traces it to Virgil's Latin latet anguis in herba, "a snake lurks in the grass," which French turned into an eel under a rock. The Académie française's first dictionary (1694) already has il y a quelque anguille sous roche, "there is something hidden."
Equivalents in other languages
Swedish: Ana ugglor i mossen Literally: To suspect owls in the bog
Hindi: दाल में कुछ काला है (daal mein kuchh kaalaa hai) Literally: There is something black in the lentils
Malay: Ada udang di sebalik batu Literally: There's a shrimp behind the rock
English: something fishy is going on
More French idioms
- Avoir la gueule de bois To be hungover.
- Filer à l'anglaise To leave discreetly without saying goodbye.
- Se mettre sur son trente-et-un To dress up in your very best clothes.
- Les doigts dans le nez To do something with the greatest of ease.
- Tomber dans le panneau To fall for a trick or scam.
- Avoir un cœur d'artichaut To fall in love easily and often.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- On ne change pas une équipe qui gagne Don't change something that's working.
- La curiosité est un vilain défaut Being too curious about others' business is a bad habit.
- Chien sur son fumier est hardi Everyone is bold on their own ground.
Keep exploring