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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French expression of the day: Piquer une tête

With summer in the air, this is a great way to cool off.

Published: 6 July 2020 12:28 CEST

French expression of the day: Piquer une tête

Why do I need to know piquer une tête?

Because you’ll need to know what to say when it gets too hot at the pool.

What does it mean?

Its literal translation is 'sting' or 'poke a head', but it refers to to 'plunging head first' into water.

Piquer une tête is used to say that you are diving into the water, literally meaning that you are going into the water with your head first. It can also simply mean throwing yourself into the water.

Usually piquer une tête just means taking a dip.

It can also be used when you are throwing yourself on the ground in a situation of crisis (for example during a bank robbery). But mostly it's used for the fun water-related sense.

Use it like this

Après, on ira piquer une tête dans la mer – Afterwards, we’ll go have a dip in the sea.

Bon allez, je vais piquer une tête, il fait beaucoup trop chaud ici – Ok, I’m going for a swim, it’s way too hot here.

Synonyms

Sauter à l'eau – jump into the water

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French Expression of the Day: Découvrir le pot aux roses

Why do I need to know découvrir le pot aux roses?

Because if you enjoy celebrity gossip, then you probably will find good use for this phrase

What does it mean?

Découvrir le pot aux roses – pronounced day-coov-rear le pot-oh rose – literally translates to ‘to discover the pot of roses.’

You might use this expression when finding out about some exciting gossip or maybe when discovering what your partner secretly planned for your anniversary, as this phrase in actuality is what you would say when you learn something secret or hidden.

In English, when discussing secrets, you might say someone has ‘spilled the beans’ or ‘let the cat out of the bag,’ but the French phrase is more about the person who has found out about the hidden item or truth, not the person who told it, as it ‘spill the beans’.

The origins of this French expression are not what you might expect, historically, the phrase has little to do with the flowers.

During the Middle Ages, the verb ‘découvrir’ had the meaning of ‘to lift a lid’ and at the time the phrase ‘pot aux roses’ referred to a small box that wealthy women used to store their perfumes, as well as their makeup. They often used these boxes to keep secrets, letters, or notes that they did not want others to stumble upon.

Use it like this

Pendant l’afterwork, Sarah a raconté à tout le monde les secrets les plus fous sur la vie privée du patron. Je ne comprends pas comment elle a réussi à découvrir le pot aux roses. – During the work happy hour, Sarah told us all about the wildest secrets of our boss’ personal life. I don’t understand how she managed to unearth that gossip.

Il a découvert le pot aux roses lorsqu’il s’est connecté à l’ordinateur de son colocataire pour regarder simplement son mail. – He discovered the secret when he logged onto his roommate’s laptop to just check his email.

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