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French Expression of the Day: C’est du vent

The Local France
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French Expression of the Day: C’est du vent
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

This French expression is useful for brushing things off.

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Why do I need to know c’est du vent?

Because you might wonder why the politician is talking about wind in response to questions about the latest scandal.

What does it mean?

C’est du vent roughly pronounced say doo vahnt – translates literally to “it is the wind”, but in reality it is more akin to the English expression “it’s just hot air” or “it’s a load of nonsense”.

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You can use this expression when you want to say that someone has made an empty threat, or if their words are unlikely to be followed through with real action. 

This is a French expression you might hear politicians use when seeking to downplay something - for instance, a strike threat from unions. 

You may also hear someone use this expression to minimise an accusation or rumour that is circulating about them. If you want to target a specific person when using the phrase, you could say “Il/Elle fait du vent” (He/She is full of hot air). 

Use it like this

Il a déclaré que ce n'était du vent lorsque les journalistes l'ont interrogé sur les accusations de blanchiment d'argent.– He said it was just hot air when journalists asked him about accusations of money laundering.

Il a dit qu'il allait encore quitter son emploi cette semaine, mais il fait du vent. – He said he was going to quit his job again this week, but it’s a load of nonsense.

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