Il y a de l'orage dans l'air
Meaning: Trouble is brewing.
Language: French
Literally: There's a storm in the air
Category: Nature
Origin: The pressure before a storm is felt before anything is seen, which is the state the phrase names. It is said of rooms more than of weather.
More idioms — Nature
- Rouler sur l'or — To be enormously wealthy.
- Valoir son pesant d'or — To be extremely valuable.
- Pierre qui roule n'amasse pas mousse — Constant movement prevents anything from accumulating.
- Les petits ruisseaux font les grandes rivières — Small contributions accumulate into something substantial.
- Un soleil de plomb — A crushing, oppressive heat.
- Une planche de salut — A last resort; the only remaining hope.
More French idioms
- Manu militari — By force; with physical compulsion.
- Faire le matamore — To swagger and bluster without the courage to back it up.
- Vendre la mèche — To give away a secret or a plan.
- Le revers de la médaille — The unwelcome other side of something good.
- À beau mentir qui vient de loin — Travellers' tales cannot be checked, so they are told without restraint.
- Être à la merci de quelqu'un — To be entirely in someone's power.
From our untranslatable words
- L'esprit de l'escalier — Thinking of the perfect comeback only after the moment has passed — on your way down the…
- Terroir — The unique character that a place — its soil, climate and tradition — gives to a wine or…
- Râler — To complain and grumble with a certain national flair — a beloved French pastime.
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