IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchUne nuit blanche
Meaning: A sleepless night.
Literally: A white night
Example: “J'ai passé une nuit blanche à finir ma présentation.” — I stayed up all night finishing my presentation.
English equivalent: To pull an all-nighter
Equivalents in other languages
English: pull an all-nighter
Origin: 18th century, first attested on 30 October 1771 in a letter from the Marquise du Deffand to Horace Walpole describing her worst insomnia. In French blanc frequently marks an absence — voix blanche, tir à blanc, mariage blanc, faire chou blanc — which likely explains it. A rival account points to Saint Petersburg, where French courtiers kept late hours through summers that never fully darkened.
More French idioms
- Être comme l'âne de Buridan To be so paralyzed between two equally attractive options that you choose neither.
- Rire comme une baleine To laugh uproariously, with your mouth wide open.
- Un vent à décorner les bœufs A ferociously strong wind.
- La bave du crapaud n'atteint pas la blanche colombe Insults from a contemptible source cannot touch the person they target.
- Savoir où le bât blesse To know exactly where the real difficulty or sore point lies.
- Faire un bœuf To improvise music together; to hold a jam session.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. The classic French 'ch' / 's' tangler.
- Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.
- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. An 's' / 'si' minefield.
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