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retourner l’estomac

Meaning: To disgust or sicken someone, to make them feel nauseous.

Language: French

Literally: to turn over the stomach

Category: Body & Senses

Origin: The phrase draws on the physical sensation of stomach distress as an image for emotional revulsion and illness.

More idioms — Body & Senses

  • ne pas garder les yeux dans sa poche — To be observant and alert; to miss nothing.
  • donner du poing sur la table — To express strong disagreement or disapproval with a situation.
  • avoir sur les bras — To be burdened with or responsible for someone or something; to be occupied with a demand…
  • ne s’être pas regardé — to judge others harshly while being blind to one's own equal or greater faults.
  • ne pas en croire ses oreilles — To be startled or disbelieving upon hearing something astonishing.
  • se composer le visage — To adopt a serious or carefully studied expression suited to the circumstances.

More French idioms

  • remonter plus haut — To begin a story or explanation at an earlier point in time to clarify or better illumina…
  • être victime de son succès — To suffer problems or difficulties that arise as a result of becoming too successful.
  • n’avoir qu’à bien se tenir — A warning or threat implying that one must behave properly or face consequences.
  • battre les fourrés — To range far and wide in search of adventure or chance encounters.
  • recoller les morceaux — to repair a broken relationship or reconcile after a quarrel.
  • brûler ses dernières cartouches — to exhaust one's final resources or use one's last arguments in desperation.

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