Francophonie· medium· informal
sauter du coq à l'âne
“to jump from the rooster to the donkey”
Meaning
to change subject randomly
Explanation
This expression describes discourse that lacks sequence or coherent connection, jumping randomly between unrelated subjects.
Example
Arrête de sauter du coq à l'âne, je ne comprends plus rien à ton histoire !
Stop jumping from topic to topic, I can't follow your story anymore!
Origin
Recorded as early as 1370 ('saillir du coq a l'asne'). One theory is that 'asne' was actually 'cane' (duck), roosters trying to mate with ducks, an absurd mismatch. Another blames a lawyer who muddled his arguments about a rooster and a donkey.
Source
More like this
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- ménager la chèvre et le chouto keep two opposing sides both happy