Sep 30, 2009

"ça lui fait une belle jambe!" - "That makes him a nice leg !" ;-)

Do you want to dance with me?
This invitation took place, last Saturday, under sunny skies, for the traditional Arlington Town Day, located in the suburbs of Boston.
Like the previous years, the atmosphere was very lively and brought many smiles, and lots of fun.

Voulez-vous danser avec moi?
Cette invitation a eu lieu samedi dernier, sous un soleil radieux à l'occasion de la traditionnelle fête de la ville d'Arlington, située dans la banlieue de Boston.
Comme les années précédentes, l’atmosphère animée a apporté beaucoup de sourires et de joie.



French Expression in context / Expression française en contexte


Expressions around the word "jambe" (leg):

  • "Ca me/lui fait une belle jambe!" (Lit : That makes me/him-her a nice leg ! )
    It won't get me/ him- her very far!
    As you may guess, this expression is related to fashion and beauty but, believe it or not, it’s all about men, not women.

    The origin goes back to the 17th century when men used to wear
    long silk socks (chausses).
    At that time, men legs were a great deal of attention (no offense ladies!) and ribbons were added to embellish and emphasize the legs.

    The expression “Cela ne me rendra pas la jambe mieux faite" (lit: it won’t bring me my leg better shaped ) is found in the “dictionnaire académique Furetière” (1694) and was used in a sarcastic sense, reffering to something useless is done to you .

    Another version is given by Diderot in one of his quotes: ‘"un homme qui marche et qui fait la belle jambe est faux et manieré" (“ a man walking while showing a beautiful leg is fake and affected”) gave the expression "faire la belle jambe" meaning:
    to show off”/ to “prance”.
    The modern idom“ça lui fait une belle jambe :”(lit: it makes him/her a beautiful leg)
    is a combination of the two versions and means today:
    it's of no interest to me!
    ............................


  • "Faire des ronds de jambe " (lit: to make circle of legs!).
    To bow and scrape!
    This expression is a reference to a ballet dance figure « half-circles made by the pointed foot, returning through first position to repeat; creating the letter 'D' on the floor”.
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  • "Traiter par dessus la jambe" (Lit: to treat over the leg)
    To treat someone/something without regards.

    Borrowed from the old French game « jeu de paume » (tennis), this expression is derivaded from the metaphor "jouer quelqu'un sous jambe"("to play someone under leg") that was used when a player get the upper hand.
    ...............................

  • "Avoir les jambes en coton" : ( Lit: to have legs of cotton"):
    To feel weak at the knees .
    The expression appeared for the first time in 1839 in the famous Stendhal novel: "La chartreuse de Parme"(sources: L'internaute). Cotton is also used in other French idioms.

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  • "Trainer la jambe" (Lit: to drag the leg)
    To trudge along.

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  • "Tenir la jambe à quelqu'un" (Lit to hold someone’s leg)
    To annoy someone with endless blabla...
    :-(
    ..............................

    I hope this is not the case here! Otherwise everyone might:

  • "Prendre ses jambes à son cou" (Lit: to throw one’s legs to one’s neck)
    To take to one's heels

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Then, (Alors)… Au revoir et à bientôt j'espère!