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Local France
4 days ago
- General
- Local France
French expression of the day: Jus de chaussette
Why do I need to know jus de chaussette? It's a common, colloquial expression with a fascinating backstory, but which sounds quite odd when you don't know what it means. What does it mean? Jus de chaussette directly translates as 'sock juice' ( jus is French for 'juice' and de chaussette means 'of sock'). Jus de chaussette is not however what the French call sweaty, smelly feet, but rather that a drink is weak - to the point that it tastes bad. According to French online dictionary l'Internaute , the expression 'implies that the liquid was not made with the necessary ingredients for the preparation of the beverage.' This colloquial expression is most commonly used about coffee - usually the brew from bad vending machines - which also was the drink at the origin of the expression. At the end of the 19th Century, during the Franco-German war in the 1870s, soldiers lacking filters to brew their coffee used their socks instead. The result was, the story goes, disgusting. Advertisement Jus de chaussette can also be used about something that - figuratively speaking - leaves a bad aftertaste in the mouth. Say you make a deal with someone and have to give up something that is important to you, or act contrary to your own values, tu as l'impression d'avoir avalé du jus de chaussette - you feel like you just drank sock juice. Use it like this On a bu leur jus de chaussette dégoûtant sans rien dire. - We drank their disgustingly weak coffee without saying anything. Il faut éviter la machine à café au bureau, elle fait du jus de chaussette. - You should avoid the coffee machine at the office, it makes piss-weak weak coffee. Avec cet accord de paix on a l'impression d'avoir ingurgité un jus de chaussette. - This peace deal leaves a bitter aftertaste Synonym Jus de vaisselle - Dish juice
Local France
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Local France
French Expression of the Day: Cul sec
Why do I need to know cul sec ? Because you might hear this expression when at a party or bar in France. What does it mean? Cul sec directly translates as 'dry bottom', which sounds like an inappropriate thing to say in public, but actually it's a drinking term. Although cul is often translated as 'arse' or 'butt' it can also mean the bottom of an object. So if someone in a bar shouts cul sec , they're not talking about the human cul , but rather the cul (bottom) of the drink. When the bottom of the glass is sec (dry), the drink is gone. READ ALSO: Cool cul: 13 of the best French 'bottom' expressions Advertisement French online dictionary l'Internaute defines cul sec as "boire un verre d'un seul trait, sans s'arrêter" , which means "have a drink in one go, without stopping." It's what in English is also known as 'chugging' or 'downing' a drink. Someone might say this to you in the imperative sense - like Cul sec ! which means "Down it!" The full expression is faire cul sec (to do dry bottom) or boire cul sec (to drink dry bottom). Cul sec isn't a vulgar expression, but if you're at a work party or with your French in-laws we suggest you refrain from downing your drink in one. It might sound like the English phrase 'bottoms up', but in fact that is simply a toast, and doesn't mean that you have to down your drink in one. Interestingly, you might hear 'bottoms up' (in English) used as a toast in France, although in the English-speaking world it's pretty archaic. More common options for a toast in France santé (good health) or tchin-tchin (cheers). Use it like this On fait cul sec ? - Let's down it? Allez les gars, cul sec ! – Come on guys, down it! Si tu perds, tu dois boire cul sec ton verre entier. - If you lose, you have to down your whole drink. And finally, here's a video of French president Emmanuel Macron doing a cul sec while helping the Toulouse rugby team celebrate winning the 2023 Top 14 domestic championship. Macron qui s'envoie un cul sec oklm dans les vestiaires du Stade🤣🤣 — Matt Dhz (@matteo_dehez) June 17, 2023
