IdiomThe Absurd
French
FrenchUn cautère sur une jambe de bois
Meaning: A remedy that is completely useless.
Literally: A cautery on a wooden leg
Example: “Repeindre la façade d'une usine qui ferme, c'est un cautère sur une jambe de bois.” — Repainting the front of a factory that's closing down is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
English equivalent: Like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic
Equivalents in other languages
English: Origin: A cautery burns a wound to treat it, which requires a wound and therefore flesh. Applied to a wooden leg it does precisely nothing, the treatment being not merely ineffective but addressed to something incapable of being treated.
More French idioms
- 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.
- Tirer à boulets rouges To attack someone ferociously and without restraint.
- Sans bourse délier Without spending a penny.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
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- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. An 's' / 'si' minefield.
- 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.
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