comme un pet sur une toile cirée
French
FWOTD – 20 June 2018
Etymology
Literally, “like a fart on an oilcloth”.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kɔ.m‿œ̃ pɛ sy.ʁ‿yn twal si.ʁe/
Adverb
comme un pet sur une toile cirée
- (simile, informal) very rapidly, as fast as greased lightning
- René Sussan, Dupont et le bonheur des hommes, 1965, p. 122.
- Découvert, il fila parmi les gardes ahuris comme un pet sur une toile cirée.
- With his cover blown, he slipped through the dumbstruck guards as fast as greased lightning.
- René Sussan, Dupont et le bonheur des hommes, 1965, p. 122.
Usage notes
Used with verbs such as filer and partir (“to leave”).
See also
- comme un voleur