IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchRater le coche
Meaning: To miss an opportunity through being too slow.
Literally: To miss the coach
Example: “Il a hésité trop longtemps à acheter et a raté le coche quand les prix ont grimpé.” — He hesitated too long before buying and missed the boat when prices shot up.
English equivalent: To miss the boat
Equivalents in other languages
Dutch: De hond in de pot vinden Literally: To find the dog in the pot
English: miss the boat
Origin: The coche was the horse-drawn stagecoach, and later the river barge, both of which left on a fixed schedule and did not wait. English formed the identical figure on boats and then buses.
More French idioms
- Donner de la confiture à un cochon To waste something fine on someone incapable of appreciating it.
- Un corbeau The anonymous author of poison-pen letters.
- Bayer aux corneilles To stand around idly, staring into space.
- Un panier de crabes A group whose members constantly undermine one another.
- Chat échaudé craint l'eau froide One bad experience makes you wary even where there is no danger.
- Une faim de loup Ravenous hunger.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
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- Avec des si, on mettrait Paris en bouteille Speculating about what might have been is pointless.
- Faute de grives, on mange des merles When you can't have what you want, you make do with what's available.
- Tout vient à point à qui sait attendre Patience is rewarded in the end.
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