IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchPendre la crémaillère
Meaning: To hold a housewarming.
Literally: To hang the pot-hook
Example: “Ils pendent la crémaillère samedi dans leur nouvel appartement.” — They're having a housewarming on Saturday in their new apartment.
Origin: The crémaillère was the notched iron bar in the hearth from which the cooking pot hung. It went up once the house was habitable, and the meal it made possible was the first the household could offer guests.
More French idioms
- Au grand dam de quelqu'un To someone's considerable detriment or annoyance.
- Trouver son chemin de Damas To undergo a sudden and total conversion.
- Une épée de Damoclès A disaster hanging over someone, liable to fall at any moment.
- Entretenir une danseuse To maintain a costly indulgence that serves no purpose.
- À l'usage du Dauphin Expurgated; censored for delicate sensibilities.
- Les dés sont pipés The outcome is rigged in advance.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
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- Vouloir, c'est pouvoir If you want something badly enough, you will find a way to do it.
- Il faut balayer devant sa porte Deal with your own faults before criticizing other people's.
- Avec des si, on mettrait Paris en bouteille Speculating about what might have been is pointless.
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