IdiomThe Absurd
French
FrenchUne guerre picrocholine
Meaning: A furious conflict over something trivial.
Literally: A Picrocholine war
Example: “Cette dispute sur la couleur des poubelles est devenue une guerre picrocholine.” — The argument over the color of the trash bins has turned into a tempest in a teapot.
English equivalent: A storm in a teacup
Other ways to say this
English: a storm in a teacup
Italian: questione di lana caprina Literally: Matter of goat's wool
Portuguese: fazer uma tempestade num copo de água Literally: To make a storm in a glass of water- French: Une tempête dans un verre d'eau Literally: A storm in a glass of water
Origin: From Rabelais's Gargantua, in which King Picrochole launches a full war after his shepherds quarrel with Grandgousier's bakers over some cakes. The name is Greek for bitter bile.
More French idioms
- Veiller au grain To stay alert for trouble.
- Tomber des hallebardes To rain extremely hard.
- L'été indien A spell of unseasonably warm weather in autumn.
- La partie émergée de l'iceberg The small visible portion of a much larger problem.
- Faire flèche de tout bois To use every available means to achieve an end.
- Blanchir sous le harnais To grow old in a profession.
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- Dans ta tente ta tante t'attend. A gentle 'ta / ten / tan / t'' warm-up that sounds faster than it reads.
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