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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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