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Informal French Expression
| Meaning | to turn up at a bad time, to be completely irrelevant / unexpected | |
| Literally | to arrive like a hair on the soup | |
| Register | informal | |
| Pronunciation |  | [ah ree vay kuh mu(n) sh(euh) veuh sur lah soop] |
| IPA | [a ʁi ve kɔ mœ̃ ʃə vø syʁ la sup] | |
Usage notes: I have mixed feelings about the French idiom arriver comme un cheveu sur la soupe. It’s ok for the first meaning, although someone showing up at a bad time is subjective, since it depends on what exactly is going on and how each person feels about it. But we can all agree that there’s never a good time to find a hair in your soup.
Par exemple…
Tu dois trouver un moyen d’occuper Céline avant la fête. Sinon, elle risque d’arriver comme un cheveu sur la soupe.
You have to find a way to keep Céline busy before the party. Otherwise, she might show up at a bad time (while we’re still making arrangements for the surprise).Je racontais les détails de mon rendez-vous atroce avec Gilles quand il est arrivé comme un cheveu sur la soupe.
I was recounting the details of my terrible date with Gilles when he arrived (unexpectedly and when I really didn’t want to see him or have him hear what I was saying).
But the second meaning is pretty weird. Hair in soup is much more than just irrelevant or unexpected; it’s icky and has absolutely no reason to be there. But I guess nonsense is what makes some French idioms so much fun. 🙂
Par exemple…
| Sa remarque est arrivé comme un cheveu sur la soupe. | His comment was completely irrelevant. | |
| Hier, mes parents sont arrivés comme un cheveu sur la soupe. | Yesterday, my parents arrived unexpectedly / out of the blue. |
Variations
- arriver comme un cheveu sur la soupe
- tomber comme un cheveu sur la soupe
- venir comme un cheveu sur la soupe
Related lessons
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