Rôtir le balai
Meaning: To live in poverty — and later, to live a life of debauchery.
Language: French
Literally: To roast the broom
Category: Daily Life
Origin: The original sense, in force from the 16th century, is destitution taken to its logical end: with no firewood left you burn the broom. Nobody is roasting it to eat it; they are trying to keep warm on the last thing that will burn. In the 18th century, in Rousseau, the meaning inverts completely, and there is no certainty about why. The usual guess involves witches, who ride their brooms to the sabbath — a gathering with a reputation — and pass near enough to the flames of hell to scorch the bristles. That reading would also explain why the phrase was applied above all to women of loose living.
More idioms — Daily Life
- Dormir comme un sabot — To sleep very deeply.
- Tout schuss — Flat out; or straight down, without deviating.
- Chanter comme une seringue / Chanter comme une casserole — To sing badly out of tune.
- Pédaler dans la semoule — To be confused and getting nowhere.
- Avoir d'autres chats à fouetter — To have more important things to do.
- Avoir le cul entre deux chaises — To be indecisive, caught between two options.
More French idioms
- Avoir les deux pieds dans le même sabot — To be incapable of acting; to sit there doing nothing.
- Balancer la sauce / Envoyer la sauce — To ejaculate; to fire a burst from a weapon; or to open the throttle. Vulgar in the first…
- Ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard — It's nothing special or impressive.
- C'est comme pisser dans un violon — A completely pointless effort.
- Avoir le cafard — To feel depressed or down.
- Poser un lapin — To stand someone up on a date.
From our tongue twisters
- Dans ta tente ta tante t'attend. — A gentle 'ta / ten / tan / t'' warm-up that sounds faster than it reads.
- 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…
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