Avoir les chevilles qui enflent


	Share / Tweet / Pin Me!

Informal French Expression

Meaning	to have a swelled/swollen head, be full of oneself, be too big for one’s britches
Literally	to have ankles that swell
Register	informal
Pronunciation		[ah vwar lay sheu veey kee a(n)fl]
IPA		[a vwaʁ le ʃə vij ki ãfl]

Usage notes: The French idiom avoir les chevilles qui enflent is an informal way to insult a person who thinks too highly of himself or herself.

This is one case where I think the English expression is better. One’s ego is in one’s head, so it makes sense that being very egotistical would mean a person had a big head. In French, though, you think a lot of yourself and your ankles swell… where’s the logic in that? 🙂

Par exemple…

Jeanne pense qu’elle va gagner ? Elle a les chevilles qui enflent.		Jeanne thinks she’s going to win? She’s full of herself.
Il fait du bon travail et il le sait – il commence à avoir les chevilles qui enflent.		He does good work and he knows it – he’s starting to get too big for his britches.

Synonymous expression: avoir la grosse tête – literally, “to have the big head”