IdiomDaily Life
FrenchCrude
FrenchCrudePéter une durite
Meaning: To lose one's temper completely.
Literally: To burst a hose
Example: “Quand il a vu la rayure sur sa voiture, il a pété une durite.” — When he saw the scratch on his car, he blew a gasket.
English equivalent: To blow a gasket
Other ways to say this
- French: Péter les plombs Literally: To blow the fuses
English: blow a gasket
Origin: Durite is a French brand of rubber coolant hose, generic enough to have become the ordinary word. An engine that bursts one overheats immediately and dramatically, which is the whole of the metaphor.
More French idioms
- Un enfant de la balle Someone raised in the trade they now practice.
- Envers et contre tous In defiance of universal opposition.
- À l'envi Vying with one another; each trying to outdo the rest.
- Jeter l'éponge To give up and concede.
- Passer l'éponge To forgive and say no more about it.
- L'esprit de l'escalier The perfect retort that arrives only after you have left.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Didon dîna, dit-on, du dos d'un dodu dindon dont le dodu dos dodine. A 'd' / 'din' / 'dod' avalanche that seems designed to jam the tongue in third gear.
- Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. The classic French 'ch' / 's' tangler.
- Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.
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