FrenchSe faire rouler dans la farine
Meaning: To be conned or deceived.
Literally: To get rolled in flour
Example: “Il a acheté une fausse montre de luxe, il s'est fait rouler dans la farine.” — He bought a fake luxury watch; he got taken for a ride.
English equivalent: To be taken for a ride
Origin: Rouler (to roll) already means to con in French, and flour is the old disguise. Fairground performers and clowns whitened their faces with it, as the Académie française noted in 1694, and in La Fontaine's fable Le Chat et un vieux Rat a cat rolls itself in flour to lie hidden and catch mice off guard. Being rolled in flour is being taken in by a trick whose powdered surface hides what lies beneath.
Other ways to say this
Polish: wziąć na bajer Literally: To take on a trick- French: Se faire prendre pour un pigeon Literally: To be taken for a pigeon
English: be taken for a ride
More French idioms
- Tirer le diable par la queue To struggle to make ends meet.
- Passer du coq à l'âne To switch topics abruptly and illogically.
- Mettre la charrue avant les bœufs To do things in the wrong order.
- Avoir le cœur sur la main To be very generous and giving.
- Tirer son épingle du jeu To extract yourself cleverly from a tricky situation.
- Être soupe au lait To be quick-tempered and flare up easily.
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