Se crêper le chignon
Meaning: To have a furious quarrel — said of women.
Language: French
Literally: To frizz each other's bun
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: The chignon is hair gathered and pinned up, and crêper is to backcomb it into a frizz. The phrase describes a fight conducted by pulling at each other's hairdos, and its exclusive application to women is part of its condescension.
More idioms — Body & Senses
- Avoir les yeux de Chimène pour quelqu'un — To be visibly smitten with someone or something.
- Se faire des cheveux blancs — To worry oneself sick.
- Haut les cœurs ! — Take courage; lift your spirits.
- Avoir les coudées franches — To have complete freedom of action.
- Battre sa coulpe — To publicly acknowledge one's own wrongdoing.
- Le petit doigt sur la couture du pantalon — Standing rigidly to attention; obeying without question.
More French idioms
- Aux calendes grecques — Never — used of something postponed indefinitely.
- Un cautère sur une jambe de bois — A remedy that is completely useless.
- Scier la branche sur laquelle on est assis — To destroy the thing your own position depends on.
- Tomber de Charybde en Scylla — To escape one danger only to meet a worse one.
- Proposer la botte à quelqu'un — To proposition someone sexually.
- Pousser le bouchon un peu loin — To go too far; to overstep.
From our tongue twisters
- 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…
- Didon dîna, dit-on, du dos d'un dodu dindon dont le dodu dos dodine. — A 'd' / 'din' / 'dod' avalanche that seems designed to jam the tongue in third gear.
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