Learning French
The origins and meaning of tirer les marrons du feu
As Christmas approaches, we look at a phrase to describe someone who takes advantage of a situation
This French phrase literally translates as: to take the chestnuts out of the fire
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With the arrival of Christmas Day, we take a look at some festive-themed idioms and expressions.
Être le dindon de la farce (literally: to be the turkey in the joke) refers to the idea of someone being the fall guy, the butt of the joke or to be taken for a ride.
Sentir le sapin (literally: to smell the fir tree), suggests that someone is close to death, that trouble lies ahead, or that something is nearing the end.
Tirer les marrons du feu (literally: to take the chestnuts out of the fire), refers to someone who exploits or takes advantage of a situation, reaps the benefits, or profits from someone else’s hard work.
What are the origins of tirer les marrons du feu?
This phrase has a negative connotation, suggesting opportunism, and comes from the Jean de La Fontaine fable ‘Le singe et le chat’ (The Monkey and the Cat), in which Bertrand the monkey persuades Raton the cat to draw chestnuts from the fire where they are roasting, promising to share them.
The cat picks them out one by one, burning its paws, and the monkey eats them all. Raton ends up getting nothing.
This story is also at the origin of the English expression ‘a cat’s paw’, which describes someone who acts as a dupe, a person used by another to carry out their dirty work.
Another related French expression is faire son beurre (literally: make one’s butter) means to benefit from something, often financially.
When do you say tirer les marrons du feu?
Say this when someone has been taken advantage of:
- Ma mère a passé des jours à préparer le repas de Noël pour que ma sœur l'apporte à sa belle-famille. Elle lui a tiré les marrons du feu. - My mother spent days working on Christmas dinner for my sister to take it to her in-laws. She stole all the credit.
To whom do you say tirer les marrons du feu?
It is considered neutral, idiomatic language that can be used in a range of formal and informal contexts - with friends and family, or with colleagues and strangers.
Bear in mind - it may offend the person being described as reaping the benefits of someone else's work.
A less idiomatic way of expressing the same idea is to use the verb profiter de (to profit from) quelqu'un (someone) or quelque chose (something).
