Switzerland· medium

attendre de la famille

to wait for family

Meaning

To be expecting a child

Explanation

A gentle, old-fashioned Swiss way of announcing a pregnancy, treating the baby as family that simply hasn't arrived yet.

Example

Ma cousine attend de la famille pour le printemps.

My cousin is expecting a baby in the spring.

Origin

This figurative sense goes back to at least 1945. It never really caught on in France, but stuck in everyday Swiss French, where waiting for family means waiting for a new baby rather than a visit from relatives.

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