French phrases that feature dogs (and some cats)

WE TAKE A LOOK AT EXPRESSIONS FEATURING OUR FOUR-LEGGED FRIENDS There are many popular (and charming) French phrases that refer to dogs in order to express certain human situations or

emotions. Perhaps the best known is “_Les chiens ne font pas des chats_” (Dogs do not make cats), which is used when expressing the notion that we inherit most of our key personality or

aesthetic traits from our parents – “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” is the closest English equivalent. READ MORE: SIX IDIOMS TO SPICE UP YOUR FRENCH CONVERSATIONS DOGS FALLING

FROM THE SKY Travelling in the other linguistic direction, there is one obvious trap to avoid: the English phrase “it’s raining cats and dogs” does not have the feline/canine equivalent in

French. Instead, they would say “_il pleut des cordes_” (literally “it's raining rope”). If you ever uttered “_il pleut des chats et chiens_”, you would get a strange look from a

befuddled French person. However, if the weather is very bad in general you might say that "_Il fait un temps de chien_". READ MORE: WHY TRANSLATING FRENCH WORD-FOR-WORD CAN HELP -

OR CONFUSE A DOG WITH AN NICE HAIR-DO There are lots of lesser known, even extinct, doggy-based phrases that evoke a certain sense of humour tied with a neat subtext. For example, “_Epouser

un chien coiffé_” dates way back to the 16th century. It translates as “To marry the first nicely coiffed dog” and was used to refer to one or other of a pair of newlyweds who failed to

find a suitable life partner until their latter years, when they plumped for the first person who did their hair nicely. As it is fairly disrespectful to the ‘dog’ in question (be they male

or female) it is barely used these days. DOGS DO LOVE SAUSAGES Another gem of a phrase is used to describe a miser, who “_n’attache pas son chien avec des saucisses_” (does not not tie his

dog up with [a chain of] sausages). The implication being that the dog would merely eat the bangers, escape and – unthinkably for the tight-fisted owner – he would have to buy more sausages.

DOGS BARK BUT THE CARAVAN PASSES BY You may also hear people say "_Les chiens aboient et la caravane passe_" (the dogs bark and the caravan goes by. Originally coming from a

Persian expression, it references Arabic trade caravans passing through the deserts. Dogs would bark angrily at the passing traders, but the camels would take little notice of the animals

and keep going along their route. In much the same way, humans can drown out the criticism levelled at them and keep on doing what they're doing. TO HAVE THE DOG Although it is never

nice to tell someone they _look_ like a dog, in French it is perfectly acceptable to say someone has the dog "_avoir du chien_". This means that someone has an allure, some

charisma, maybe something we cannot put our finger on... a little _je ne sais quoi _as we might say in English. GOING BOWLING WITH YOUR DOG You are invited to an activity with your French

neighbours, maybe a game of _pétanque_, but you have never played before. You decide to join in anyway, and you are absolutely terribly. In fact, you "_arrivé comme un chien dans un jeu

de quilles_," (did it like a dog in a game of bowling). This is not just limited to sport, but to any activity you fail spectacularly at, such as trying to cook your Christmas dinner

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