French Expression of the Day: Avoir les boules
Having the balls in French is not like having a ball in English.
Why do I need to know avoir les boules?
Because it’s a slang expression to use on a rainy day.
What does it mean?
Avoir les boules - roughly pronounced ah-vwar lay bools - directly translates to 'having the balls' - and not the ball you use to play football (ballon in French).
Boules is the French world for the other type of balls, although it is “difficult to say whether the ‘boules’ in question represent testicles or tonsils,” according to the French online dictionary l’Internaute.
But in any case the meaning of the expression remains the same. If you’re having the balls it means that you’re really annoyed, angry or upset. You might hear your friend complain by saying J’ai les boules, on a perdu le match hier soir (I’m so bummed that we lost the game last night).
You can also hear the expression avoir les boules mixed in with other, more colloquial ways of speaking. While avoir les boules is informal on its own, foutre les boules is even more informal (and l’Internaute here concluded that the balls in question do refer the male genitalia).
Avoir les boules refers to the person having the balls, but foutre les boules points outward, in the sense that something makes someone have 'the balls' (thus making them angry, annoyed, upset or scared). This version of the expression works similarly to the English one 'busting your chops'. Your French friend might say Il essaye juste de te foutre les boules to mean "He's just busting your chops".
It can also be used to refer to messing with something or someone - you could say voilà de quoi foutre les boules à la patriarchie or - that's how you mess with the patriarchy.
But you can also use the expression about yourself and your own feelings of anger or frustration by saying Ca me fout les boules - It makes me really angry/upset.
Keep in mind that this expression can be seen as vulgar, and should be used in less formal contexts. If you want a different way of describing being angry or upset, you might say Ca me gonfle is a good one (‘it makes me swell [up with anger]’) or even ca me met en colère (which simply means ‘it makes me angry’).
Use it like this
J'ai les boules d'avoir raté le train de deux minutes. - I am so angry I missed my train by two minutes.
Depuis la perte de son équipe préférée samedi, il a les boules. - Ever since his favourite team lost on Saturday, he has been angry.
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Why do I need to know avoir les boules?
Because it’s a slang expression to use on a rainy day.
What does it mean?
Avoir les boules - roughly pronounced ah-vwar lay bools - directly translates to 'having the balls' - and not the ball you use to play football (ballon in French).
Boules is the French world for the other type of balls, although it is “difficult to say whether the ‘boules’ in question represent testicles or tonsils,” according to the French online dictionary l’Internaute.
But in any case the meaning of the expression remains the same. If you’re having the balls it means that you’re really annoyed, angry or upset. You might hear your friend complain by saying J’ai les boules, on a perdu le match hier soir (I’m so bummed that we lost the game last night).
You can also hear the expression avoir les boules mixed in with other, more colloquial ways of speaking. While avoir les boules is informal on its own, foutre les boules is even more informal (and l’Internaute here concluded that the balls in question do refer the male genitalia).
Avoir les boules refers to the person having the balls, but foutre les boules points outward, in the sense that something makes someone have 'the balls' (thus making them angry, annoyed, upset or scared). This version of the expression works similarly to the English one 'busting your chops'. Your French friend might say Il essaye juste de te foutre les boules to mean "He's just busting your chops".
It can also be used to refer to messing with something or someone - you could say voilà de quoi foutre les boules à la patriarchie or - that's how you mess with the patriarchy.
But you can also use the expression about yourself and your own feelings of anger or frustration by saying Ca me fout les boules - It makes me really angry/upset.
Keep in mind that this expression can be seen as vulgar, and should be used in less formal contexts. If you want a different way of describing being angry or upset, you might say Ca me gonfle is a good one (‘it makes me swell [up with anger]’) or even ca me met en colère (which simply means ‘it makes me angry’).
Use it like this
J'ai les boules d'avoir raté le train de deux minutes. - I am so angry I missed my train by two minutes.
Depuis la perte de son équipe préférée samedi, il a les boules. - Ever since his favourite team lost on Saturday, he has been angry.
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