Francophonie· medium· informal
mouton à cinq pattes
“five-legged sheep”
Meaning
Something almost impossible to find
Explanation
Real sheep only ever have four legs, so hunting for a five-legged one is a neat shorthand for chasing something that doesn't really exist.
Example
Un appartement pas cher et bien placé à Paris, c'est le mouton à cinq pattes.
A cheap, well-located flat in Paris is basically impossible to find.
Origin
The phrase leans on simple logic: a sheep only has four legs, so a five-legged one stands in for something that, realistically, doesn't exist.
Source
More like this
- avaler des couleuvresTo put up with insults without complaining
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- avoir le cafardto feel depressed
- avoir une araignée au plafondto be crazy
- chercher midi à quatorze heuresto make a simple thing unnecessarily complicated
- faire le pied de grueto wait standing in one place for a long time