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French expression of the Day: Le moral dans les chaussettes

The Local France
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French expression of the Day: Le moral dans les chaussettes
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Why your socks can be a crucial indicator of your state of happiness.

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Why do I need to know le moral dans les chaussettes?

Maybe you're worried about money, the weather is cold or the boulangerie has run out of baguettes - you need something to describe how things are just getting you down.

What does it mean?

[Avoir] le moral dans les chaussettes means exactly what it says - [to have your] morale in your socks. And it describes the feeling that the daily grind is getting you down.

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Le moral in French doesn't refer to your personal morals or standards (that's moralité or mœurs) it refers to your morale, or your mental state and level of happiness/contentment or unhappiness/discontent.

Someone who is in a good mood or is generally content with their lot is said to avoir le moral - they are filled with morale. 

At the other end of the good humour scale is having your morale down in the socks, ie at ground level.

Use it like this

Il avait le moral dans les chaussettes - he was in a funk

Franchement, Monsieur, ils ont le moral dans les chaussettes - Honestly, sir, they are not at all happy

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