Attacher lundi avec mardi

Expression: Attacher lundi avec mardi

Pronunciation: [ah tah shay loo(n) dee ah vek mar dee]

Meaning: to button (one's shirt/dress/jacket) wrong

Literal translation: to attach Monday with Tuesday

Register: informal

Notes: I wish English had an idiomatic equivalent to the wonderful French expression attacher lundi avec mardi, but unfortunately we're stuck with just the matter-of-fact "to button wrong."

Example
   Tu as dû être pressé ce matin - tu as attaché lundi avec mardi !
   You must have been in a hurry this morning - you buttoned your shirt wrong!

Strangely, I've heard this expression in a couple of movies and a woman in Île de Ré said it to me, but I can't find it in any French dictionaries and there are very few internet search results for it. Perhaps it's relatively new or regional?

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Related lessons

• All about avec
• French days of the week
• Most common French phrases