16 French idioms about food and drink you need to know

French cuisine is world-renowned, so it’s no surprise that many French idioms revolve around food and drink. Let’s dive into some tasty expressions that will add flavour to your French vocabulary.

1. Avoir la pêche

Literal translation: To have the peach
Meaning: To be in high spirits or full of energy

2. Être dans les choux

Literal translation: To be in the cabbages
Meaning: To be in trouble or to have failed

3. Mettre du beurre dans les épinards

Literal translation: To put butter in the spinach
Meaning: To improve one’s financial situation

4. Avoir le melon

Literal translation: To have the melon
Meaning: To be full of oneself or conceited

5. Raconter des salades

Literal translation: To tell salads
Meaning: To tell lies or tall tales

6. C’est la fin des haricots

Literal translation: It’s the end of the beans
Meaning: It’s all over; there’s no hope left

7. Avoir un petit pois dans la tête

Literal translation: To have a small pea in the head
Meaning: To be a bit dim or not very intelligent

8. Être au four et au moulin

Literal translation: To be at the oven and at the mill
Meaning: To be everywhere at once; to multitask

9. Avoir du pain sur la planche

Literal translation: To have bread on the board
Meaning: To have a lot of work to do

10. Faire chou blanc

Literal translation: To make a white cabbage
Meaning: To fail or to come up empty-handed

11. Tomber dans les pommes

Literal translation: To fall into the apples
Meaning: To faint or lose consciousness

12. Être comme un poisson dans l’eau

Literal translation: To be like a fish in water
Meaning: To feel completely at ease or in one’s element

13. Manger sur le pouce

Literal translation: To eat on the thumb
Meaning: To eat quickly or on the go

14. Casser du sucre sur le dos de quelqu’un

Literal translation: To break sugar on someone’s back
Meaning: To speak ill of someone behind their back

15. Ça ne mange pas de pain

Literal translation: It doesn’t eat bread
Meaning: It doesn’t cost anything; it’s not a big deal

16. Couper la poire en deux

Literal translation: To cut the pear in half
Meaning: To reach a compromise

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