Le démon de midi
Meaning: The midlife crisis, especially its romantic form.
Language: French
Literally: The noonday demon
Category: Daily Life
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 idioms — Daily Life
- Mentir comme un arracheur de dents — To lie brazenly and habitually.
- Dur à la détente — Slow to understand — or, in the other sense, reluctant to part with money.
- Qui paye ses dettes s'enrichit — Settling what you owe leaves you better off than owing it.
- Faire son deuil de quelque chose — To accept that something is lost and give up on it.
- Jeter son dévolu sur quelque chose — To settle firmly on something one intends to have.
- À Dieu ne plaise — God forbid.
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.
From our compliments & insults
- Tête de mule — An impossibly stubborn person who refuses to change their mind no matter what.
- C'est une vraie chèvre — They're hopelessly stubborn and infuriating — a goat that refuses to be moved.
- Casse-pieds — A massive bore or pain in the neck — someone who wears you down with their irritating way…
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