French expression: Monter en épingle
Friday September 28, 2007
What does the idiomatic French expression monter (quelque chose) en épingle mean? Learn all about it here, and then share your thoughts.
French expression: Monter en épingle
Discuss
Community Forum
Explore French Language
Must Reads
About.com Special Features
How to Ace the GRE
Being well prepared is the first step; here are more essential suggestions. More >
The Business School Lowdown
Everything from choosing a school and applying, to employment after graduation. More >
©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.
All rights reserved.
Comments
I wonder if it doesn’t have more to do with the idea of micromanaging something, or becoming fixated on a very small element of a concept, process, etc., rather than on the larger and more important truth. Perhaps it is related to arguing about “how many angels can dance on the head of a pin,” which I believe has a derivation in religious discourse.
Think butterflies. You mount a butterfly or other small creatures on a pin to display them for close examination.
I wonder, too, if it isn’t connected to the “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” question. A professor I knew told us that in fact the medieval thinkers pondered how many angels could dance on the POINT of a pin. Since angels have no physical dimensions, and the point of a pin is infinitely small, or continues on forever until it reaches an actual point, this is a much more interesting philosophical question!
on top a pin, ouch. I like the butterfly idea better. If you think of a scientist or investiagtor they will pick up an item or clue carefully with twizers or a pin to preserve and study more carefully.
I know that “Tiré a quatre épingles” means to be all dressed up and that the origin of the expression is to do with mounting butterflies on 4 pins - so I guess the butterflies have it.
Tony
Robert defines it as “mettre en évidence, en relief; faire valoir avec insistance.” Like a butterfly or a diamond. Angels don’t come into it.
“Literal translation: To show something on a pin.” Hmmm.
I’m wondering: isn’t there some confusion here between and ? meaning to show, meaning to climb or mount(up)upon something. But the butterfly idea does make the connection–we do “mount” an item for display, often pinning that item to a board. So is about displaying something in the way that we display it when pinning it on a board–not placing it upon a pinhead.
There is a similar expression to /monter (quelque chose) en épingle/ in our lebanese language but without using the same words, I can translate it to english as:” don’t make it complicated, don’t make it harder than it is.” I think it’s the same expression because putting anything on the tip of a pin is really impossible to do, for that take it easy and don’t make a big deal of it..
Something lost above when I tried html. I meant to say confusion between monter and montrer. Montrer means to show, monter literally means something rather different
Monter en épingle …showing off something..I thought make a mountain out of a molehill was : faire quatorze heures à minuit….
Before I saw the comments I was going to describe a bug collection. So I’ll go with the butterfly theory.
But maybe bugs are a better example after all - making a display of something people might not really want to see.
Surely it simply means to pin up, as on a notice board, so everyone can see it?
Actually, I thought it meant to literally feature something on the head of a pin, which would make a small or normal-sized thing appear relatively enormous.
I would say that the phrase goes with “make a mountain out of a molehill”….
like the butterfly idea I thought of a badge. Something more noticeable from being put on show.
An épingle is not only a pin, but also a peg. In either case, the expression is not monter SUR une épingle, but rather EN épingle–the meaning therefore is more one of hanging “by a pin,” or being “pinned up” for display. The head of a pin doesn’t really come into play here.
As a side note, les épingles have a long and important history in Europe. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, clothing was laced or pinned together–there were no zippers or snaps, and buttons weren’t used to the extent that they’re used today. Even fancy sleeves were laced or pinned onto the bodice, so they could be removed for washing. If you had any valued item or adornment to display, such as a miniature portrait or a medal, you had to “pin it on” as well, which goes back to the phrase in question. It was important to have a helper to pin and lace you into your outfits every day. This is where the expression “pin money” comes from. Because pins were so important in holding clothing together, most women expected a small allowance every month or so to replenish her supply of pins–a necessity of life!
I agree with Alan - it’s pinning something up on display, as though it’s a poster, to draw attention to it.
It sounds similar to the English expression “a lot of tempest in a pot of tea”…someone making a big deal out of something that is really very small…Maybe whatever they are putting on a pin is actually small enough to fit, but they’re making way too big a deal of it.
I was going to say what Steve said, that you would display an object with great care in a case with pins (such as a butterfly.
Anything of any size would look larger if you put it on a pin. The phrase refers to making it look bigger by placing on something of smaller proportions. It makes perfect sense.
I think the idea here is when you mount something with pins is that you make it possible for everyone to see it. It makes sense to me that when you want to exagerate you make the issue a grandiose one.
I’m wondering if the ‘monter’ is the ’showing’ of it, and using not an ordinary pin, but an ornamental one with jewels, etc. to show it off.
Ed,Alan, Steve, Dalal,Harley, Tony, Canardquiril,all have it right. Collectors make displays of their insects, butterflies, dried leaves and flowers by pinning them on boards under a glass cover. This increases their value and the interest. By the way “ne cherchez pas midi a quatorze heures” is the correct dicton and it means not to be trying to do somethimng after the deadline has long past.
According to Harrap’s Slang French dictionary, the expression means to exaggerate!
I agree with Diann. Like a beach ball on a golf tee, you would get the point from 100 metres.
RE : Monter en epingle: Voici la logique de l’expression (Voyez ci-dessous):
You said: Notes: Something that fits on the head of a pin, or in a pinhole, is obviously very small, so the logic of this French expression escapes me. If whatever you monte en épingle is being made small enough to fit on a pin, that seems like you’d have to be minimizing it - the opposite of emphasizing it or making a big deal out of it. Or maybe it’s that you’d have to use a microscope to see it, which would be making it seem much bigger than it actually is.
What do you think? Post your comments on my French blog - just hit “comments” at the bottom of the post.
Une epingle, which usually is nothing but a pin (safety pin, hair pin, etc…) is also a piece of jewelry, more often known as “une broche” (a broach or brooch), used to hold a scarf or just to decorate a blouse. As a piece of jewelry, it is made to attract attention. MONTER EN EPINGLE therefore means “To make a big thing out of nothing” as you explained further…
Idees tres interessantes de Suzanne (16) et aussi de Dominique (26) et qui sans doute sont vraies. Je me demande ce que vous diriez de l’expression:. Etre tres bien habille??
Nous revenons au même thème.
Bien sur, j’ai oublie de vous dire l’expression: “Etre tiré à 4 épingles”, (etre tres bien habille?) Cela s’en suit!!
It simply means to exaggerate…to blow something out of proportion even. ‘Monter en épingle’ means to “mount something on to a pinhead” which would make something small gain importance simply by putting it on the pinhead, won’t it? This would naturally give more importance to that something than it usually would if it were not mounted on the pinhead….?
I agree with Steven Sauke. It does not have much to do with the idea of a display. Monter (chelque chose) en épingle means exaggerating on importance of something. Making a big deal of a situation that does not really deserve much attention. Faire monter un camée en épingle.Mettre en évidence, en relief; faire valoir avec insistance.
As others have written, I think it means “making a mountain out of a molehill.”
Kathie
to showcase…..
I’ll bet anyone dollars to doughnuts — well, 2 doughnuts, anyway — that the essence of the meaning of “monter en épingle,” and probably the origin of the saying itself, come from using pins to mount something for display, which someone has already suggested. I myself did that as a kid with my insect collection. Won 1st prize at the local country fair. And when I was awarded the cordon bleu, I can tell you that I had the distinct feeling qu’on m’a monté en epingle. Quand vous montez quelque chose en épingle, you’re setting it up pretty, displaying it for all to see. And it’s not merely display — you’re setting it apart from everything else. There it stands, singled out, almost as if on its own pedestal. Think of that giant cecropia moth on the pin in the display case. You’re pinning it up. This is all related to the male fetish surrounding “pin up girls.” It’s the classic example; the guys in the repair garage pin up the poster of the lovely whoever — the Coors babe, Nascar Nancy, the Black Velvet girl. In addition, when you highlight something or someone as the paragon, the perfect example of some phenomenon, you say that he is the “posterboy” for, let’s say, steroid popping athletes, or philanthropic largess. By saying that, you imply that this personage is on some poster that has been, ahem, “pinned up” all over town so as to highlight that person as the epitome of whatever the phenomenon is, be it good or bad. Monter en épingle, pins, pin ups, poster boys/girls … it’s all one thing. Can you grok it?
It’s the same thing as our “making a mountain out of a molehill.”
I think “making a mountain out of a molehill” is closest to the mark. It means to struggle to make something more than it is or can ever be, and in the end isn’t worth the effort. To try to mount (set)something of substantial size upon the head of a pin is a struggle that probably won’t succeed, and it too isn’t worth the effort.
How about the equivalent….”to make a big deal out of it”
By putting it on a pin, you are giving some item or concept more value than it deserves…perhaps similar to mounting a pebble in a platinum setting…
I like the broach idea of Lefrapper. that would really bring attention to something. However, all this ideas lead to displaying something not exagerating. Putting something on a pin or with a pin is displaying it not really exagerating. So, my point is that the montain to the anthill is to matter of fact and suggest a problem…Second thought that could be a figurative translation:)
Bonjour,
Do you know a french book “la puce à l’oreille” - Claude Duneton. A very interesting book explaining the origin of french expressions - Monter en épingle/Tirer son épingle du jeu/Etre tiré à quatre épingles … in fact, the épingle in the 13th century was a very important object, and sign of luxury for the women. They were offered as presents and became first a special amount of money for buying things (woman) and then a kind of “tip” at the beginning of 20th cent. (like in english : “pin-money”). Nowaways, apart from épingle à nourrice, and in such above expressions, it is not used very often. it means for me to make a big deal out of it. Because you can do whatever you want with an épingle, can be luxury or very simple, with or without diamond …but you see it.
Mountain out of mole hill fits the bill in english. However love Suzanne’s email with regard to the history of the pin.
How about those hairpin turns up the mountain? You have to go slowly but make upward progress out of persistance. When someone someone makes something more important than it is, it is made that way from repeat (those turns) visits to the issue.
The meaning of this expression always seemed obvious to me: you pin something on the wall so that more people could read it. The microscope-based interpretations are way off the mark. To quote a good source (http://atilf.atilf.fr/dendien/scripts/tlfiv5/visusel.exe?26;s=1169848710;r=2;nat=;sol=0;): Monter (qqc.) en épingle. Donner sciemment à un événement une répercussion, une audience exagérée. Monter un scandale en épingle. Ce qu’il faut bien monter en épingle, c’est le côté humanitaire de tout le truc (DUHAMEL, Cécile, 1938, p. 30). N’empêche que l’avocat monterait aussitôt l’histoire en épingle et essaierait d’ameuter l’opinion (AYMÉ, Tête autres, 1952, p. 60)
From another forum: “The expression comes from jewelry. When a man wanted to show his priceless stone, he had less [AJL: fewer] possibilities than the women. The best way was to mount (monter) it on a necktie pin (épingle à cravate), obviously the most visible place of the clothing (better than the belt or the shoes). Hence ‘monter en épingle’, while women could ‘monter en broche’ their jewels.”
The writer is a 55-year-old native of the Auvergne. But did men stick their “priceless” stones onto their neckties? How would guys know how to attach stones to pins? How long have they worn neckties, anyway? However, if there’s an expression “monter en broche,” then why not also a correlative “monter en épingle”?
I found a similar explanation at chilton.com:
L’expression “monter en épingle” est moins transparente. Elle signifie commenter et faire connaître un événement bien au-delà de ce qu’il mérite, en le grossissant et en le dramatisant : on en fait “tout un fromage”, on fait beaucoup de bruit autour de pas grand chose. Le verbe “monter” correspond bien à cette idée. Pourquoi “épingle” ? L’image première est celle de la petite pierre précieuse qu’on monte sur une épingle à cravate : on la met en évidence et on la donne à voir.
Another discussion, also in French, included this:
L’origine de l’expression vient à la fois de la mode et de la joaillerie. Il s’agissait des pierres précieuses qu’on sertissait au sommet d’une épingle à cravate. La pierre était ainsi mise en valeur et montrée à tous.
Other explanations for the expression are intelligent and interesting. Until some French language expert does some definitive research, one leans to the necktie pin origin; it’s hard to argue with three French sources.
There’s another expression, “tiré à quatre épingles,” which means soigné, and we all know what that means. The origin of that expression? Maybe, as someone wrote, it suggests new clothing, fresh from being pinned inside a box.