Informal French Expression
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| Meaning | he’s not that great/special, he’s nothing to write home about | |
| Literally | he doesn’t break a duck’s three feet | |
| Register | informal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[eel neu kas pah trwah pah tah oo(n) kah nar] |
| IPA | [il nə kas pɑ trwa pat a œ̃ ka naʀ] | |
Usage notes: Since ducks only have two feet, it would take someone or something truly exceptional to break three – or at least that’s the idea behind the French idiom il ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard.
Par exemple…
| Pierre est sympa, mais il ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard. | Pierre is nice, but he’s nothing to write home about. | |
| J’ai vu le film – ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard. | I saw the movie – it’s not that special. |
The base expression is ne pas casser trois pattes à un canard, so obviously it can be used with other (mediocre) subjects.
| Gaëlle ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard. | Gaëlle isn’t that great. | |
| Ils ne cassent pas trois pattes à un canard. | They’re not that great. | |
| Tu ne casses pas trois pattes à un canard. | You’re not that great. |
Informally, ne is dropped and this expression is pronounced il casse pas trois pattes à un canard – learn more.
Synonymous expressions (all informal)
- ça ne casse pas des briques – literally, "it doesn’t break bricks"
- ça ne casse rien – "it doesn’t break anything"
- ça ne pisse pas loin – "it doesn’t pee far"
- ce n’est pas la gloire – "it’s not glory"
- ce n’est pas terrible – "it’s not that great"
- ce n’est pas transcendant – "it’s not transcendent"
- il n’y a pas de quoi pavoiser – "there’s no reason to put out flags"
Related lessons
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