Learning French: beware of red herrings when using English idioms

The expression ‘a red herring’ is not, as any native English speaker knows, un hareng rouge but an idiomatic one: its real meaning is quite different from what a word-to-word translation would give: une échappatoire, une manoeuvre de diversion.

Such idioms, common in both English and French, are traps for the unwary translator but also a rich source for reflection on the cultural, social and historical differences between the two languages and cultures.

A cat, whether it has eaten the herring or not, can be transmogrified into rope when ‘it’s raining cats and dogs’ is turned into the French: il pleut des cordes.

In earlier days, these ropes were spears: il pleuvait des hallebardes, but when did you last hurl a halberd?

Our feline friend could be turned to stone when, put among the pigeons, it becomes un pavé dans la mare. Or again transformed into a spade when called: on appelle un chat un chat, but you call a spade a spade.

In other words, you don’t beat about the bush: on ne tourne pas autour du pot.

The English phrases appear very down to earth, those of a nature-loving gardener; the French ones seem rather to reinforce assumptions about French centres of interest: sex and cooking.

If the latter is clear as a cooking-pot, the former is perhaps lost in history and embarrassment, since the chat in question, now familiarly referred to rather in its feminine form, chatte, is the English ‘pussy’.