Francophonie· easy
mettre les pieds dans le plat
“to put one's feet in the dish”
Meaning
To blurt out something tactless without meaning to
Explanation
The French cousin of putting your foot in it, saying the blunt or awkward thing everyone else was tiptoeing around.
Example
Il a demandé son salaire devant tout le monde, il a vraiment mis les pieds dans le plat.
He asked about her salary in front of everyone, he really put his foot in it.
Origin
Goes back to the 19th century, when 'plat' could mean a shallow stretch of water. Stepping into one stirred up the muddy bottom and made an already awkward situation worse.
Source
More like this
- avoir l'estomac dans les talonsto be extremely hungry
- être haut comme trois pommesto be very small
- mettre la main à la pâteto do a share of the actual work yourself
- avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventreTo take on more than one can handle
- des yeux de merlan fritTo look lovesick
- la moutarde me monte au nezI'm getting angry