IdiomAnimals
French
FrenchUne tête de linotte
Meaning: A scatterbrain.
Literally: A linnet's head
Example: “Cette tête de linotte a encore oublié ses clés à l'intérieur.” — That scatterbrain locked her keys inside again.
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 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.
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- Râler To complain and grumble with a certain national flair — a beloved French pastime.
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