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French Expression
| Meaning | to suddenly change the subject, jump between subjects, make a non sequitur | |
| Literally | to pass from the rooster to the donkey | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  | [pah say du kuh kah lahn] |
| IPA | [pa se dy kɔ ka lan] | |
Usage notes: What do roosters have in common with donkeys? Not a whole lot, which is why passer du coq à l’âne means "to change the subject."
Par exemple…
On parlait de l’économie quand il est passé du coq à l’âne pour me demander si j’étais mariée.
We were talking about the economy when he suddenly changed the subject and asked if I was married.
Variations
- sauter du coq à l’âne – literally, “to jump from the rooster to the donkey”
- faire un coq-à-l’âne – “to do a rooster-to-donkey”
Related: un coq-à-l’âne – abrupt change of subject, non sequitur
Synonymous expressions
- changer de disque (informal)
- changer de sujet
- détourner la conversation
- sauter (sans transition) d’un sujet à un autre
Opposite expression: revenons à nos moutons
Related lessons
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Seems to refer to the folk tale of the Animals of Bremen. The four animals were the donkey, the dog, the cat, and the cock.
Perhaps, but the two animals in the middle have nothing to do with the French expression. I just chose this image because it was all I could find with a rooster and a donkey. 🙂
Right; but assuming that the folk tale is well known in France, it would explain why going from the cock to the donkey is missing connecting steps. Just offering a possible explanation. Is there a French tale featuring these animals?
Bud Savoie