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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French expression of the day: C’est pas la peine

Although it may sound like it, this expression has nothing to do with pain.

French expression of the day: C'est pas la peine

Why do I need to know c’est pas la peine?

Well, for one you will be able to say in French if reading this article is worth it or not.

What does it mean?

C’est pas la peine is a way of saying ‘it’s not worth it’, ‘don’t bother’ or 'there's no point'.

The more formal (and correctly spelled) version is ce n’est pas la peine, which means the same. In both cases you may use it to state that something isn't worth the effort.

Bringing an umbrella to the store a couple of blocks away?

C’est pas la peine. S’il commence à pleuvoir, on court. – Don’t bother. If it starts raining we’ll just make a run for it. 

Forgot to pick up the cake for your buddy's birthday?

C'est pas la peine d'en faire tout un plat! No use in making such a fuss out of it! (Check out faire tout un plat here)

Trying to get tickets to the next football World Cup?

C'est meme pas la peine d'essayer. Les billets se vendent beaucoup trop vite – Don't even bother trying. Tickets sell out way too quickly.

Other options?

Vue que vous avez lu jusqu'a ici j'imagine que vous avez compris et que ce n'est pas la peine de vous faire d'autres exemples. – Since you've read this far, I reckon you've gotten the hang of it and that there's no need to give further examples.

READ ALSO: For more French Expressions and French Words of the Day you can CLICK HERE to see our full list

 

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FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY

French Expression of the Day: Caillou dans la chaussure

This one might come in handy when you’re complaining about French bureaucracy.

French Expression of the Day: Caillou dans la chaussure

Why do I need to know Caillou dans la chaussure?

Because, sometimes, you just need to tell someone about your frustration with life’s little, annoying, metaphorically painful niggles.

What does it mean?

Caillou dans la chaussure – roughly pronounced kay-oo don la shass-your – translates as ‘stone in the shoe’, is a phrase as old as time, and means exactly what it says.

You can use this in a literal sense, for example if you’re hiking and get gravel in your boots, but it’s more usually used as a metaphor.

When someone says they have a pebble in their shoe, it means that something is not right – and it describes the metaphorical feeling of something troublesome that is more painful than it really needs to be and is creating bigger problems than its size would suggest.

You can use it about your own problems, and it’s also used to describe something that is a big problem for someone else – in English you might say something is the ‘millstone around their neck’ to describe a big, weighty problem that won’t go away.

Use it like this

Nouvelle-Calédonie : le gros caillou dans la chaussure de Macron – New Caledonia is the millstone around Macron’s neck

Nous connaissons tous cette sensation désagréable d’avoir un caillou coincé dans notre chaussure – We all know that unpleasant feeling of having a stone stuck in our shoe.

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