Une tête de linotte
Meaning: A scatterbrain.
Language: French
Literally: A linnet's head
Category: Animals
Origin: The linnet is a small finch, and the smallness of the skull is doing all the work. French has a family of these — cervelle de moineau, sparrow-brain — all built the same way.
More idioms — Animals
- La part du lion — By far the largest portion, taken by the strongest party.
- Être connu comme le loup blanc — To be known by absolutely everyone.
- Se jeter dans la gueule du loup — To walk straight into obvious danger.
- Un vieux loup de mer — A seasoned old sailor.
- Avoir des yeux de lynx — To have extremely sharp eyesight, or to notice everything.
- Des larmes de crocodile — Insincere grief performed for effect.
More French idioms
- Se laisser tondre la laine sur le dos — To let oneself be exploited without resisting.
- S'entendre comme larrons en foire — To be thick as thieves; to understand one another perfectly.
- À la fortune du pot — Taking potluck; sharing whatever happens to be cooking.
- Séparer le bon grain de l'ivraie — To distinguish what is valuable from what is worthless.
- Se demander si c'est du lard ou du cochon — To be unable to tell what something is or how it is meant.
- Une autre paire de manches — A different matter entirely; a far harder proposition.
From our untranslatable words
- L'esprit de l'escalier — Thinking of the perfect comeback only after the moment has passed — on your way down the…
- Terroir — The unique character that a place — its soil, climate and tradition — gives to a wine or…
- Râler — To complain and grumble with a certain national flair — a beloved French pastime.
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