Comme les moutons de Panurge

The French idiom ‘comme les moutons de Panurge’ translates directly into English as ‘like Panurge’s sheep’, with a meaning equivalent to ‘like sheep’, which is used to describe people who blindly follow the crowd.

This originates from the novel Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais, in which Panurge, described as being a crafty knave, buys a sheep from the vendor Dindenault, and having found that he had been overcharged for this sheep, throws it crying and bleating into the sea as revenge. The rest of Panurge’s sheep, having seen this, then follow suit, crying, bleating and jumping into the sea despite the Panurge’s efforts to stop them.

This story, about the nature of sheep who instinctively and stubbornly follow the crowd without forethought, is comparable to the English idiom ‘like lemmings off a cliff’, which are used to describe those who do the same as those around them.

Panurge is from the Classical Greek panourgos, meaning knavish, ready for anything, pan = any/everything and ourgos from ergon = work.

 

Sources:

Wiktionary

Your Dictionary

Wikipedia

Avignon-et-Provence

Collins- easy learning- French Idioms

 

 

Faire une réponse de Normand

This idiom translates directly into English as ‘to give the reply of a Norman’, which has the equivalent meaning of ‘to not give a straight answer’; being ambiguous or evasive when answering a question. A Norman here refers to inhabitants to a region in Northern France, Normandy.

Normandy has historically been economically heavily reliant on agriculture, hence the inhabitants will have been comprised predominantly of farmers, which means that the characteristics associated with the region of Normandy will have been based on the language, habits and behaviour of the farmers, with this idiom being just one example.

The idiom comes from the stereotype in French culture that there is a supposed unwillingness of Norman farmers to commit themselves; giving neither a yes or no answer. One of the possible origins of this idiom, explored by the German Walter Gottschalk in his book Die sprichwörtlichen redensarten der französischen sprache, translating as The proverbial sayings of the French language, is that in Normandy there was an ancient law which allowed anyone who signed a contract to retract within 24 hours. This could over time could have become the attitude of Normans not only to signing contracts but to any form of making an agreement; no sooner making an agreement than breaking it.

An example of a situation when this idiom could be used is:

“Il a fait une réponse de Normand en disant qu’il n’est ni pour ni contre.”

“He didn’t give a straight answer by saying he was neither for not against.”

 

Sources:

The Cambridge French-English Thesaurus

Reverso Dictionnaire

Open Library

Wikipedia

Collins- easy learning- French Idioms

 

Francois Hollande- il est un Normand?

Être fleur bleue

This idiom ‘être fleur bleue’ literally translates as ‘to be a blue flower’, but is used in the context of describing someone as being ‘naively sentimental’.

This idiom originated from the novel ‘Heinrich Von Ofterdingen’ by the philosopher Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg, known as Novalis, about a wandering minstrel who finds a blue flower, the symbol of poetry.

In the language of flowers, pale blue flowers are seen to be tender and innocent, with a vulnerability that compares to someone who is naive and sentimental. Such symbolism of the colour of pale blue has been used in contexts such as Mary, mother of Jesus, who is depicted as wearing pale blue garments which emphasise her purity of body and soul.

Adelbert von Chamisso, a German poet and botanist, believed Novalis’ depiction of the blue flower to be the core of Romanticism, Novalis communicating that personal inward cognition is possible only through thinking, feeling and contemplation, which can be traced back to Heinrich von Ofterdingen’s fascination with a naively sentimental blue flower.

Sources:

Collins- French Idioms
Wikipedia
Expressio

To cry like Mary Magdalene

This idiom is used both in French ‘Pleurer comme une Madeleine’ and in Spanish ‘Llorar como una magdalena’ which translates directly in English as ‘To cry like Mary Magdalene’, with an equivalent idiom of ‘To cry your eyes out’, which describes a situation in which one cries excessively.

This idiom has religious connotations; Mary Magdalene was a follower of Jesus, a prominent figure in Christianity believed to be the ‘Son of God’, who died as a result of crucifixion; a grisly form of execution which involves having the criminal tied or nailed to a large wooden cross by their hands and feet and left to die.

Mary Magdalene was one of the very few female followers of Jesus mentioned in the Bible, and some historians believe that Mary and Jesus were lovers, which has been a source of much debate.

When Jesus was crucified and died at the cross, Mary Magdalene was pictured kneeling at his cross and weeping for him, which gives premise to the idiom of crying to such an extent that it could be compared to the tears shed by Mary Magdalene.

Both the French language and the Spanish language share this idiom, which is likely down to both France and Hispanic countries being predominantly Christian countries, with many of their idioms being derived from the Bible and religious beliefs.

Sources:

Collins- French Idioms
Collins- Spanish Idioms

Related articles

• Jesus Mary Joseph: The Secret Legacy of Jesus and Mary Magdalene by Ariadne Green (mytruthsetsmefree.wordpress.com)
• “Mary Magdalene?” (altruistico.wordpress.com)

Regagner ses pénates

The French idiom ‘regagner ses pénates’ translates directly as ‘to go back to your household gods’ in English, however the equivalent meaning of the idiom is ‘to go home’.

‘Pénates’ from the Latin ‘Penates’ was an ancient Roman deity associated with the home, to which Roman people would associate with food, throwing some of their food into the fire on the hearth at every family meal, to appease Penates.

The Latin word ‘penus’ translates as food or provisions, named after the god Penates. This god was associated originally with the storeroom, but eventually was worshipped as a protector of the home, leading to the formation of the concept of ‘Penates Publici’, the Roman state’s equivalent of Penates.

An example of how this idiom can be used is ‘I am tired, I am going to go home’, translating as ‘Je suis fatigué, je vais regagner mes pénates’.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Encyclopedia Mythica
Universalium

Related articles

• ‘Ears to Idioms: to Be the Belle of the Ball (carloinglese.wordpress.com)

Montrer patte blanche

The French idiom ‘montrer patte blanche’ translates word by word as ‘to show a white paw’. However, the meaning of the idiom is equivalent to the English ‘to show your credentials’.

This expression was made popular by a fable of ‘La Fontaine’ about a wolf, a goat and its kid (Le Loup, la Chevre et le Chevreau). Left at home alone, the goat told its kid that it could only open the door to an animal with a white paw, so that the wolf, with grey paws, would not be able to enter.

This idiom can be used in contexts such as being able to gain access to a building, for example ‘Pour entrer, il faut montrer patte blanche’ meaning ‘To enter, one must show a white paw (credentials/present papers)’.

Other uses of the idiom can be to ‘appear open’, ‘be clean’, ‘be honest’ and to ‘redeem oneself’.

The foundation of this idiom is an old French fable, similar to the English idiom ‘to cry wolf’ which, though different in meaning, is also based on a fable, which shows similarities in the ways in which idioms are formed in both the English and French language.

 

Sources:
Collins- easy learning- French Idioms- 2010- Page 53
Language Portal of Canada
Wikipedia