French expression: Vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué
Friday February 22, 2008
What does the idiomatic French expression Vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué
mean? Learn all about it here, and then share your thoughts.
More: French expressions
More: French expressions
Comments
Fluent French magazine had an article about this. Some time ago, bears had a cash bounty on them as well as their value for meat, hide, grease, etc. I’m sure the bear was much more financially beneficial to the Frenchman than the poor chicken, no matter how many pictures and ceramics we see of the cock.
i got a better one: from the bear’s perspective
“don’t salivate over the hunter before one rests the gun from his hands.”
In Norway, we’ve got the same expression. We, however, say that you “shouldn’t sell the skin before the bear is killed” which is more like a warning.
Love the expressions you give us. What is that tense called, the “apres avoir…”?
Salut Jen - That’s the past infinitive: http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa082600.htm
A good expression to know…I would have thought that the English expression would have been the one of the hunter…and the French, as or more rural, would have found a translation for the chicken. Recalls our expression, “A bird in the hand…” similar idea”
Follow-up comment: there is a funny book entitled “101 French Idioms”(Passport Bks. NTC) which divides the expressions highlighted into nine categories; then has one expression per page, with a funny illustration depicting the literal (not always correct) meaning: ex. “Tomber dans les pommes.” Tho, Laura, you have found supplementary clichés that aren’t featured in this book.
I’ve occasionally copied a page or two from 101.Fr.Ids., put it on a classroom bulletin board near where students might see it as they wait for dismissal, or put it on the back of a test for amusement. PRH
Vegetarians might prefer an idiom about not selling the pie before you pick the apples or not throwing the tofu out with the brine water or something like that!
Interestingly, Aristotle Onassis began his successful career by flouting this advice. He contracted to transport a huge amount of oil before he owned a ship. With the money he got as a deposit he purchased one. the rest, as they say, is history.
In Polish there’s also similar expression.
Could this be a Quebecois contribution ? After all, a quebecois has more bears around him !
Don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched- would that be the English translation?