‘Le moral dans les chaussettes’ - French phrase for when you feel down

Word for word, avoir le moral dans les chaussettes means to have morale in your socks.

This 20th century expression brings to mind a vertical scale of happiness running from high to low.

If you’re feeling good, your mood is located towards the top of the scale and you could be said to avoir le moral – or to be in high spirits.

At the opposite end of the scale are the socks on your feet; the closest you can possibly get to the ground.

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Far from feeling positive, to avoir le moral dans les chaussettes means that you are down in the dumps, or in low spirits.

In English we might even say our morale has hit ‘rock bottom’.

This kind of feeling can be brought on by bad luck, bad news, or disappointment.

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