French Expression of the Day: Faire long feu
When translated literally, this expression sounds like something a caveman might say - in reality, it is a little more complex.
Why do I need to know faire long feu?
Because sometimes things don't go the way we want.
What does it mean?
Faire long feu, pronounced fair long phö (like the Vietnamese noodle soup dish), literally means to make a long fire.
But this obviously doesn't really make sense.
In reality, faire long feu is an expression used to describe something that doesn't go as planned, that fizzles out or that takes longer than you were expecting.
It comes from an era when muskets and canons were still used in battle. To fire a projectile, the user would have to light a fuse which would burn all the way to the gunpowder in the barrel, triggering an explosion. This would propel the cannon or musket ball towards the enemy.
Sometimes though, the fuse would burn but fizzle out before reaching or igniting the stock of gunpowder, meaning that the weapons would not fire at all. This is where the expression faire long feu comes from.
Use it like this
Cette stratégie de neutralité a-t-elle fait long feu ? - Has this neutral strategy failed?
Ce projet a fait long feu - This project has fizzled out
Pensez-vous faire long feu à Matignon ? - Will you last a long time as Prime Minister?
Lionel Messi pourrait ne pas faire long feu au PSG - Lionel Messi might not last long at PSG
Elle ne va pas faire long feu dans ce boulot - She will not last a long time in this job
Synonyms
There is a similar expression that conveys the same meaning and stems from military language:
Avoir des ratés - To misfire
Comments
See Also
Why do I need to know faire long feu?
Because sometimes things don't go the way we want.
What does it mean?
Faire long feu, pronounced fair long phö (like the Vietnamese noodle soup dish), literally means to make a long fire.
But this obviously doesn't really make sense.
In reality, faire long feu is an expression used to describe something that doesn't go as planned, that fizzles out or that takes longer than you were expecting.
It comes from an era when muskets and canons were still used in battle. To fire a projectile, the user would have to light a fuse which would burn all the way to the gunpowder in the barrel, triggering an explosion. This would propel the cannon or musket ball towards the enemy.
Sometimes though, the fuse would burn but fizzle out before reaching or igniting the stock of gunpowder, meaning that the weapons would not fire at all. This is where the expression faire long feu comes from.
Use it like this
Cette stratégie de neutralité a-t-elle fait long feu ? - Has this neutral strategy failed?
Ce projet a fait long feu - This project has fizzled out
Pensez-vous faire long feu à Matignon ? - Will you last a long time as Prime Minister?
Lionel Messi pourrait ne pas faire long feu au PSG - Lionel Messi might not last long at PSG
Elle ne va pas faire long feu dans ce boulot - She will not last a long time in this job
Synonyms
There is a similar expression that conveys the same meaning and stems from military language:
Avoir des ratés - To misfire
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