French expression: Avoir le cafard
Friday August 8, 2008
What does the idiomatic French expression avoir le cafard mean? Learn all about it here, and then share your thoughts.
More: French expressions
More: French expressions
Discuss
Explore French Language
Must Reads
About.com Special Features
A Smarter Future
Tips that will help finance your education, excel in the classroom, and advance your career. More >
How to Ace the GRE
Being well prepared is the first step; here are more essential suggestions. More >
©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.
All rights reserved.
Comments
I love these expressions!!!!
Can you explain “ras le bol”, sometime, please?
I love that expression. I’m going to try and use it whenever I can!
I’ve also heard, “Le cafard me pourchasse” “Depression is chasing / running after / me” in the sense that I’m fighting to stay ahead (of work, stress, etc.)
As for “ras le bol” I think refers to “I’ve had it up to here (hand near top of head)” with whatever. This would be an expression of warning or frustration: “don’t push me, I’ve got no patience today”.
Salut Mike -
It’s already done: http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/jenairaslebol.htm
You can see the index of everything I’ve done so far here: http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/expressions.htm
Laura K. Lawless
Learn French at About
I congratulate Laura for this interesting section. Such expressions, proverbs and the so called figures of speech not only truly add to the beauty of a language, but communicate more effectively also.
I request Laura to use this section more & more. We really love it.
I knew what the expression meant but the background, including the Baudelaire reference, was wonderful! Thanks for all the information you share.
No lo sabía. Bueno seguiré aprendiendo expresiones en Francés!
Your lesson about changing du to de after a negative. Does it also apply after other things, like ne…que???
john in Kentucky
I was reading a history of Napoleon in Egypt recently and it said that “avoir le cafard” originated because Napoleon’s soldiers felt so low when they were invading because the conditions were so bad and that “kafr” meant infidel.
Firstly can I echo the sentiments of the other postings and thank Laura for this section, it stimulates much discussion (and argument!). The cockroach issue is interesting
my OED suggests the English word is derived from the Spanish ‘cucaracha’. My first thought was that the word was compounded from ‘cock’ and ‘roach’, but a ‘roach’ in English is a fish! Elaine’s note is informative and suggests the word came into the French language quite recently. I’m wondering if the same is true of ‘cockroach’ which might then have come into English at a time when British and Spanish cultures were in close contact perhaps during the opening up of the New World.
This in turn suggests the insect was not known in our part of Europe until recently. Once again thank you for all your efforts Laura.
Barron’s “French Idioms” also suggests someone to be “blue” – down in dumps as in:
Il avait le cafard à cause du départ de son amie – he was blue because of his girlfriends departure.
Mais un clou chasse l’autre, nes pas?
theres another expression for feeling blue…____ spleen.
I can’t remember the rest of the phrase.
I think it’s in one of Rose’s songs..
La liste, peut etre…
‘Le Cafard’ became related to both cockroaches and depression in the Foreign Legion. Bored Legionnaires would shoot cockroaches, they also became depressed under their isolated conditions and called this depression ‘le cafard’.