Francophonie· medium
n'avoir ni queue ni tête
“to have neither tail nor head”
Meaning
to make no sense at all
Explanation
This expression means something is completely incoherent or nonsensical, it has no beginning and no end, similar to English "to have neither head nor tail."
Example
Son discours n'avait ni queue ni tête, personne n'a compris ce qu'il voulait dire.
His speech made no sense at all, nobody understood what he was trying to say.
Origin
The idea of something having no identifiable beginning (head) or end (tail) goes all the way back to Cicero, who used the Latin phrase 'nec caput nec pedes.' The French version has been in use since at least the 15th century.
Source
More like this
- avoir bon dosTo serve as a convenient excuse for someone else's failings
- avoir le bras longTo have influence
- avoir le cœur sur la mainto be very generous
- avoir le compas dans l’œilTo judge distances and proportions accurately, just by eye
- avoir le diable au corpsto be full of reckless, restless energy
- avoir le nez creuxto guess right about what will happen