IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchUne Arlésienne
Meaning: A person or thing endlessly talked about but who never actually appears.
Literally: A woman from Arles
Example: “La nouvelle ligne de tramway est devenue l'Arlésienne de la ville.” — The new tramline has become the town's long-promised no-show.
Origin: From Alphonse Daudet's story and 1872 play L'Arlésienne, later set by Bizet: the title character drives the entire plot and never once comes on stage. French took the structural joke and made it a noun.
More French idioms
- Mesurer à l'aune de To judge something by a particular standard.
- L'avocat du diable Someone who argues a position they do not hold in order to test it.
- Dans tous les azimuts In every direction at once; scattered and unfocused.
- Une tour de Babel A place of hopeless confusion, especially one where nobody speaks the same language.
- Plier bagage To pack up and clear off, usually in a hurry.
- Ça fait un bail It has been ages.
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- Tu as un cœur d'or You are genuinely kind and generous.
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- Bête comme ses pieds Really not very bright.
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