Ni chair ni poisson
Meaning: Neither one thing nor the other; impossible to classify.
Language: French
Literally: Neither flesh nor fish
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: From the Church's dietary rules, which divided food into meat and the fish permitted on fast days. Something falling in neither category defeated the whole system of classification.
More idioms — Food & Drink
- Un cordon-bleu — An outstanding cook.
- Il y a loin de la coupe aux lèvres — Much can still go wrong between intention and result.
- Né avec une cuillère d'argent dans la bouche — Born into wealth and advantage.
- Des économies de bouts de chandelle — Petty economies that save nothing worth having.
- Un étouffe-chrétien — Food so dense and stodgy it is hard to swallow.
- Mettre de l'eau dans son vin — To moderate one's demands or soften one's position.
More French idioms
- Clouer le bec à quelqu'un — To silence someone completely, usually with an unanswerable reply.
- Se crêper le chignon — To have a furious quarrel — said of women.
- Avoir les yeux de Chimène pour quelqu'un — To be visibly smitten with someone or something.
- Se faire des cheveux blancs — To worry oneself sick.
- Haut les cœurs ! — Take courage; lift your spirits.
- Aux calendes grecques — Never — used of something postponed indefinitely.
From our false friends
- Pain — Actually means 'bread'. The hurting kind of pain is la douleur.
- Coin — Actually means 'corner'. A coin you spend is une pièce.
- Chance — Actually means 'luck'. Bonne chance! = Good luck! For chance (probability), say une possi…
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