Muet comme une carpe
Meaning: Completely silent; saying absolutely nothing.
Language: French
Literally: Mute as a carp
Category: Animals
Origin: A carp at the surface opens and closes its mouth continually without producing any sound, which makes it the perfect image of someone visibly working their jaw and emitting nothing. Earlier French said muet comme un poisson before the carp took the role in the 16th century.
More idioms — Animals
- 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.
- Avoir d'autres chats à fouetter — To have more important things to do.
- Da steppt der Bär — It's going to be a great party.
- Ich glaub mein Schwein pfeift — I can't believe it! That's outrageous!
More French idioms
- La caque sent toujours le hareng — However far you rise, low origins always show through.
- Aller à Canossa — To humble oneself completely before someone; to submit and beg forgiveness.
- Parler à la cantonade — To speak to a group at large without addressing anyone in particular.
- Un capitaine d'industrie — The head of a large company.
- Il n'y a pas loin du Capitole à la roche Tarpéienne — Glory and disgrace are close neighbors — the fall can follow the honors very quickly.
- Arriver comme les carabiniers — To turn up far too late, when everything is already over.
From our proverbs
- Once a thief, always a thief — Criminal habits become ingrained character traits difficult to overcome through reformati…
- One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch — Corruption spreads contagiously; a single morally compromised person can undermine an ent…
- One's time is one's own — (uncommon) A time when one's work or efforts in a certain setting are free from constant…
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