FrenchSe casser la figure
Meaning: To fall to the ground; to have an accident or suffer a collapse.
Literally: To break oneself the figure
Example: “J'ai glissé sur le verglas et je me suis cassé la figure.” — I slipped on the ice and fell flat on my face.
English equivalent: To fall flat on one's face
Other ways to say this
- French: Se casser la margoulette Literally: To break one's mug
English: fall flat on one's face
Origin: Figure here is the face, its ordinary sense in French since the classical period (une jolie figure, a pretty face), not the whole body. To fall flat on one's face is to break one's face, and the phrase now covers any fall, accident or failure, including a business that goes under. It is the more polite version of se casser la gueule, where gueule (an animal's mouth) is slang for the face.
More French idioms
- Péter la balloune (Quebec French) To cause deep disappointment; to shatter someone's illusions or hopes.
- Être du propre Used ironically to criticize something as morally or physically filthy.
- Remuer ciel et terre To exert all possible effort and use every available means to achieve a goal.
- Faire dresser l’oreille To catch someone's attention or spark their interest.
- Renaître de ses cendres To rise again and flourish after near-total destruction.
- Donner un coup de pied dans la fourmilière To strike a major blow or take bold action that stirs up considerable agitation and contr…
Explore another collection: False Friends
Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.
Keep exploring