IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchLe démon de midi
Meaning: The midlife crisis, especially its romantic form.
Literally: The noonday demon
Example: “À cinquante ans, il a acheté une moto rouge et quitté sa femme : le démon de midi.” — At fifty, he bought a red motorcycle and left his wife: a classic midlife crisis.
Origin: From the daemonium meridianum of Psalm 91 in the Vulgate, a demon that attacks in broad daylight. Monastic writers used it for the listlessness that struck at midday; French moved it to the middle of a life rather than a day.
More French idioms
- Dieu reconnaîtra les siens Act without discriminating and let a higher authority sort out the innocent.
- Mon petit doigt m'a dit I know something you did not expect me to know.
- Dorer la pilule To make an unpleasant fact easier to accept by dressing it up.
- Qui dort dîne Sleep takes the place of a meal you cannot afford.
- Se la couler douce To take life very easy indeed.
- Des mesures draconiennes Punishingly severe rules.
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