Learn French Idioms with Me #4/100

Avoir un poil dans la main

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Continuing the series on French idiomatic expressions that the French use every day, today we’ll dive into the expression avoir un poil dans la main.

Its literal meaning is “to have a strand of hair in the hand” and refers to someone who is extremely lazy or work-shy. French idioms never disappoint when it comes to funny imagery!

Other synonyms for this expression are être fainéant (literally: être quelqu’un qui fait néant / to be someone who does nothing) and être parresseux (to be lazy).

A previous version of this informal expression was avoir du poil dans la main, meaning “to have hair in one’s palm” (as opposed to only one strand). The meaning seems to refer to someone whose chronic laziness has allowed for a whole bunch of hair to grow in their palm.

Here is an example sentence from “La bête de Troufignac” by Alex Varoux:

“Avoue qu’on a tous les deux un poil dans la main, et que ça nous fait pas reluire, l’idée de travailler dur ? Y a un peu de ça,” admit Lou.

“You have to admit that we both have a hair in our hands, and that we don’t like the idea of working hard? There’s a bit of that,” admitted Lou. (DeepL translation; ça nous fait pas reluire literally means “it doesn’t make us shine.” I’m guessing this could be interpreted as “it’s not something to be proud of.”)

Some more hyperbolic versions of this idiom are avoir une queue de vache / un bambou dans la main (to have a cow’s tail / a bamboo stick in the hand).

In "L’Étymologie ou explication des proverbes françois," dated 1656, 
Fleury de Bellingen ascribes a different meaning to this expression: 
a lazy person would sooner find a strand of hair growing in their hand 
than actually engage in any work. A related expression in French is quand 
les poules auront des dents (when chicken will grow teeth).

The phrase avoir un poil dans la main may seem odd at first, but its hilariously vivid imagery is a testament to the creativity and humor of the French language.

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