Francophonie· medium
les carottes sont cuites
“the carrots are cooked”
Meaning
it's all over
Explanation
This expression means the situation is hopeless or the decision is final.
Example
Il a raté son examen final. Les carottes sont cuites pour lui.
He failed his final exam. It's all over for him.
Origin
Goes back to the 17th century, when the poor ate carrots alongside cooked meat. Cooked meat meant dead animals, so 'cooked carrots' became associated with death. The BBC famously broadcast the phrase on June 5, 1944, as a coded signal to the French Resistance that D-Day was the next day.
More like this
- chacun prépare sa propre morteach person makes their own drink to taste
- arriver comme un cheveu sur la soupeTo turn up at the worst possible moment
- avoir de la bouteilleTo have plenty of experience
- avoir du bléto have money
- avoir du pain sur la plancheTo have a lot of work still to do
- avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventreTo take on more than one can handle