Informal French Expression
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| Meaning | to be kidding oneself, to be wrong | |
| Literally | to stick one’s finger in one’s eye | |
| Register | informal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[seu foo ray leu dwah da(n) leuy] |
| IPA | [sə fu ʀe lə dwa dã lœj] | |
Usage notes: The informal French expression se fourrer le doigt dans l’œil is a colorful way of telling someone that they are wrong.*
Par exemple…
| Si elle croit que cela va réussir, elle se fourre le doigt dans l’œil ! | If she thinks that’s going to work, she’s kidding herself! | |
| Mais non, tu te fourres le doigt dans l’œil ! | No, you’re so wrong! |
Variations
Stronger version: se fourrer le doigt dans l’œil jusqu’au coude – literally, “to stick one’s finger in one’s eye up to the elbow.”
Normal register: Interestingly, this expression is informal only because of the verb se fourrer. With a different verb, it’s normal register: se mettre le doigt dans l’œil – literally, “to put one’s finger in one’s eye.”
Synonyms
- avoir très tort – to be very wrong
- se faire des illusions – to be deluding oneself
- se tromper grossièrement – to be very much mistaken
* It’s even more colorful than you might realize, as œil is most likely a euphemism here for anus. This brings to mind an unrelated English expression about a thumb up one’s ….
Related lessons
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