S茅cher les cours: A French expression you may hear today
Today marks 鈥榣a rentr茅e鈥� in France with over 12 million children returning to school. Here are three school-related French expressions you might hear - but hopefully not!
Learn French words and expressions you may hear in the news today
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The expression s茅cher les cours literally translates as 鈥榯o dry classes鈥� and means to not attend lessons, to skive school.
It is said to date back to when inkwells were embedded into school tables and so when pupils did not attend class, the ink would be unused and 鈥榙ry up鈥�, inspiring the expression.
Another expression to mean playing truant or bunking off is toaller 脿 l'茅cole bussionni猫re, which translates literally as 鈥榯o go to school in a bush鈥� It has its origins in the sixteenth century when Lutheran priests had difficulty preaching in public due to Catholic opposition and resorted to building clandestine schools in surrounding forests and fields to share their teachings. So if you were there you were not in your (usual) school.
Equally, the expression faire le mur - 鈥榯o make or do the wall鈥� - means to leave a place without permission and is often, although not exclusively, used in the context of playing truant, especially with boarding schools and sneaking out at night. It is an evolution of the much older expression sauter le mur, meaning 鈥榯o jump the wall鈥�. The phrase is also used when speaking of prison escapes or soldiers leaving their barracks against orders.
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