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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 informal and insulting to refer to 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”
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