Envoyer sur les roses

	Share / Tweet / Pin Me!

Informal French Expression

Meaning	to brush off, send packing, tell where to go
Literally	to send onto the roses
Register	informal
Pronunciation		[a(n) vwa yay sur lay roz]
IPA		[ã wa jaj syʁ le roz]

Usage notes: The French expression envoyer sur les roses is a sort of antiphrasis or irony. Sending roses (envoyer des roses) is normally a nice thing to do to express appreciation or fondness. But envoyer sur les roses is something you do when you are annoyed by someone. Rather than giving them roses, the idea is that you throw the distasteful person onto the flowers, and since the stems are of course covered in thorns, it’s probably not a very nice place to be.

Par exemple…

Il ne s’est pas excusé, du coup je l’ai envoyé sur les roses.		He didn’t apologize, so I sent him packing.
J’ai essayé de lui parler, mais je me suis fait envoyer sur les roses.		I tried to talk to her, but I got the brush off.

 Wondering about the construction je me suis fait envoyer? It’s the reflexive causative.

Synonymous expressions

• envoyer à la balançoire
• envoyer à tous les diables
• envoyer au bain
• envoyer au diable
• envoyer chez le bonhomme (Québec)
• envoyer dinguer
• envoyer valdinguer

  Informal synonyms

• aller péter dans les fleurs (Québec) – literally, "to go fart in the flowers"
• envoyer aux pelotes
• envoyer balader
• envoyer bouler
• envoyer promener
• envoyer sur les pelotes

  Familiar synonyms

• envoyer benner
• envoyer paître
  
  Vulgar synonyms
• envoyer chier
• aller se faire foutre (vulgar) – "to go **** oneself"

Somewhat synonymous verbs

• congédier
• éconduire
• rejeter
• renvoyer
• repousser

 Related lesson

• Envoyer conjugations
• Flowers

 Share / Tweet / Pin Me!