IdiomBody & Senses
French
FrenchSe faire des cheveux blancs
Meaning: To worry oneself sick.
Literally: To make oneself white hairs
Example: “Arrête de te faire des cheveux blancs pour ton examen, tu l'as bien préparé.” — Stop worrying yourself sick about your exam; you prepared well for it.
English equivalent: To lose sleep over something
Other ways to say this
- French: Se faire du mouron Literally: To give oneself some hair
English: lose sleep over
Origin: From the old belief that acute distress turns the hair white, occasionally reported of people after a shock. French keeps several variants of the same idea, including se faire du mauvais sang.
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.
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