IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchPerdre son latin
Meaning: To be completely baffled by something.
Literally: To lose one's Latin
Example: “Avec ce nouveau logiciel, même l'informaticien y perd son latin.” — With this new software, even the IT guy can't make heads or tails of it.
English equivalent: Not to be able to make heads or tails of something
Equivalents in other languages
English: make heads or tails of something
Origin: Latin was the whole of formal learning, so losing it meant every intellectual resource had failed. The phrase concedes bafflement rather than ignorance.
More French idioms
- Être une lumière To be highly intelligent — used almost exclusively in the negative.
- Une lune de miel The first happy period of a marriage, or of any new arrangement.
- Bien luné In a good mood — and mal luné, in a bad one.
- Depuis belle lurette For ages; for a very long time.
- Depuis des lustres For a very long time.
- Pleurer comme une Madeleine To cry copiously and without restraint.
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