Manger de la vache enragée
Meaning: To live in real poverty; to go through a long stretch of hardship.
Language: French
Literally: To eat rabid cow
Category: Animals
Origin: It dates to the 17th century, originally as manger la vache enragée, and its logic is grim and straightforward: people poor enough have never been in a position to be fussy, and ate animals that had been kept off the market as diseased or unfit. The phrase seems to have formed from the collision of mener une vie enragée, the frantic existence of someone scrambling to stay alive, with manger de la vache malade. Because the origin has been forgotten and the words seem to speak for themselves, a lot of people now take it to mean being furious or wound up — as though eating an animal maddened by rabies passed the symptoms along with the meat. It does not. The misery is economic, not dietary.
More idioms — Animals
- Parler français comme une vache espagnole — To speak French appallingly badly.
- Une peau de vache — A vicious, pitiless person — a hard case, especially one with authority over you.
- La vache ! — An exclamation — either at someone's rottenness, or, just as often, at something impressi…
- Ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard — It's nothing special or impressive.
- Avoir le cafard — To feel depressed or down.
- Poser un lapin — To stand someone up on a date.
More French idioms
- Avoir une veine de cocu — To be outrageously, undeservedly lucky.
- Bon vent ! — Safe travels — or, said in the right tone, good riddance.
- Comme la vérole sur le bas clergé — Suddenly and with great violence — descending on something all at once.
- Des vertes et des pas mûres — Shocking or outrageous things — and, by extension, a very rough time of it.
- Prendre une veste — To suffer a defeat, especially at the polls.
- C'est comme pisser dans un violon — A completely pointless effort.
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