
IdiomNature
French
L'été indien
Meaning: A spell of unseasonably warm weather in autumn.
Literally: The Indian summer
Example: “Grâce à l'été indien, on a encore déjeuné en terrasse fin octobre.” — Thanks to the Indian summer, we were still eating lunch outside at the end of October.
English equivalent: Indian summer
Equivalents in other languages
English: Indian summer
Origin: Borrowed from North American English, where it is recorded from the 18th century, though why it is Indian was never settled even there. French adopted it wholesale in the 20th century.
More French idioms
- De fil en aiguille One thing leading to another.
- Un fil d'Ariane A guiding thread through something impossibly complicated.
- En file indienne In single file, one behind another.
- Conter fleurette To woo someone with sweet talk.
- Des manœuvres florentines Devious, elaborately indirect political scheming.
- De bonne foi Sincerely, without intent to deceive.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
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- Vent au visage rend un homme sage Hardship makes a person wiser.
- Un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l'auras A certain small gain beats a larger promised one.
- L'habit ne fait pas le moine Appearances do not establish what someone is.
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