FrenchVieux comme Mathusalem
Meaning: Extremely old.
Literally: Old as Methuselah
Example: “Cet ordinateur est vieux comme Mathusalem ; il met dix minutes à démarrer.” — This computer is as old as Methuselah; it takes ten minutes to start.
English equivalent: As old as Methuselah
Equivalents in other languages
English: as old as Methuselah
Origin: Methuselah in Genesis lived 969 years, the longest life recorded in the Bible: he fathered Lamech at 187 and lived a further 782 years after that. He was Noah's grandfather and the last of the long-lived patriarchs before the Flood, after which the span allotted to a human life is cut to a hundred and twenty years. There is a wrinkle in the arithmetic — one version of the chronology has him dying after the Flood, which is awkward, since he is not listed among the passengers on the Ark. French also says vieux comme Hérode (old as Herod), which sets the bar considerably lower.
More French idioms
- Comme un poisson dans l'eau Completely at ease in one's element.
- Tuer la poule aux œufs d'or To destroy a source of steady profit out of greed for all of it at once.
- Écrire un poulet à quelqu'un To send a love letter.
- À la queue leu leu In single file, one behind another.
- Avoir la queue entre les jambes To slink off humiliated.
- Manger à tous les râteliers To take advantage from all sides at once, with no loyalty to any.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- 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.
Keep exploring