Pierre qui roule n'amasse pas mousse
Meaning: Constant movement prevents anything from accumulating.
Language: French
Literally: A rolling stone gathers no moss
Category: Nature
Origin: Whether this is a warning or a recommendation has never been settled, and French and English disagree about it in the same way. The stone is either failing to build a life or admirably refusing to stagnate.
More idioms — Nature
- Les petits ruisseaux font les grandes rivières — Small contributions accumulate into something substantial.
- Un soleil de plomb — A crushing, oppressive heat.
- Une planche de salut — A last resort; the only remaining hope.
- Sentir le sapin — To be close to death.
- Une tempête dans un verre d'eau — A great commotion over something trivial.
- Contre vents et marées — In the face of every obstacle.
More French idioms
- Mettre à pied — To suspend someone from their duties.
- Jeter la première pierre — To be the first to condemn someone.
- Avoir pignon sur rue — To be soundly established, with a visible and respectable position.
- Jouer à pile ou face — To decide by tossing a coin.
- Un pince-sans-rire — Someone who jokes with a completely straight face.
- N'être pas à prendre avec des pincettes — To be in such a foul mood as to be unapproachable.
From our tongue twisters
- Seize chaises sèches sur seize arches sèches. — A relentless collision of 'sei', 'sèch', and 's' — the tongue can't find traction.
- Un beau ver vert dans un verre vert verra un ver vert. — Ver (worm), vert (green), and verre (glass) are near-homophones — distinguishing them at…
- 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.
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