Expressions related to time

In French, there are expressions that include time but do not always relate to it. Here are 6 expressions involving hours and time.

  • Passer un mauvais quart d’heure. (Literally: to go through a bad quarter-hour)
    To go through a difficult time
    >
    A cowboy goes through a difficult time during a rodeo.
    Also: Faire passer un mauvais quart d’heure
    To give someone a hard time.
  • S’embêter à cent sous (de) l’heure. (Literally: To be bored a hundred an hour.)
    To be bored to death.
  • Le trois quart du temps. (Literally: three-quarters of the time)
    Most of the time.
    > I spent most of the film laughing.
  • Un bouillon de onze heures. (Literally: an eleven o’clock broth)
    A poisoned drink.
  • La nuit des temps. (Literally: the night of time)
    A long time ago about which nothing is known.
    > It is a tradition that people have followed since the dawn of time.
  • Chercher midi à quatorze heures. (Literally: To look for noon at 2:00 PM)
    To make something simple unnecessarily complicated.
    > Why are you making something unnecessarily complicated?

     

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