Food and cuisine hold prominent places in French culture. As
one might expect, food is the topic of many French idioms.
« Occupe-toi de
tes oignons » or “Mind your own onions” is the French way of saying
“Mind your own business”. One of the kids at the crèche was more interested in
the puzzle that another child was working on so the teacher said: “Occupe-toi de tes oignons” and finish
your own puzzle. The teacher was stereotypically French: « maigre comme un haricot, mince comme une
asperge » (skinny as a string bean, an asparagus).
Our friend was taking his French friend to the store and
driving slowly as they talked. The
French passenger said: « Appuyez sur
le champignon et allez plus vite ! » (push on the mushroom
and go faster !) or “Step on the gas!”
We were at an apéro
and our hostess was talking about her son-in-law and some of the stupid things
he did and she referred to him as a « cornichon »
(literally a pickle, figuratively a nitwit). The week following, I arrived at
the crèche to see all of the children and teachers dressed up in costumes
representing fruits or vegetables. I told one teacher that I did not have a
costume and she smiled and said: “Then you can be the
« cornichon ».” I decided that « le ver est dans le fruit » (the
worm is in the fruit), i.e., it is too late to do anything about it. This is
the truth. I am not about to « raconter
des salades » (tell salads - stories).
My hair is « sel
et poivre » (salt and pepper – the same as in English) though much
more sel than poivre these days…
And don’t forget: « le
poisson d’avril » (April fish – April Fool’s Day) will soon be here.
Watch out for children who stick a paper fish on your back and then run away
shouting “poisson d’avril.”
