FrenchPoser un lapin
Meaning: To stand someone up on a date.
Literally: To put down a rabbit
Example: “Je l'ai attendu une heure au café, il m'a posé un lapin.” — I waited an hour for him at the café; he stood me up.
English equivalent: To stand someone up
Origin: In late 19th-century slang a lapin (rabbit) was a refusal to pay, and poser un lapin meant leaving a woman without paying for her favors, or more broadly leaving without paying at all. Around 1890, reportedly among students, the sense shifted to standing someone up, which keeps the idea of cheating someone of what they were promised. One suggestion links it to laisser poser, to keep someone waiting. Why a rabbit was chosen is not known.
Equivalents in other languages
English: stand someone up
More French idioms
- Tomber dans les pommes To faint; to pass out.
- Avoir la moutarde qui monte au nez To be getting angry.
- Pédaler dans la semoule To be confused and getting nowhere.
- Raconter des salades To tell lies or tall tales.
- En faire tout un fromage To make a big deal out of nothing.
- Couper les cheveux en quatre To over-analyze or split hairs.
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