It's hot.
Very hot.
We breathe, we sweat.
The slightest bit of fresh air is beneficial.
The weather forecast announced it for a few days: it is the heat wave, a “blazing sun” fell down on the country.
Impossible to "gild the pill" quietly under this unbreathable "dodger" without "sweating like an ox".
The editorial staff invites you to rediscover the origin of these burning current expressions.
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” READ ALSO – Do you know these chilling expressions?
● Have the curtain that sticks to the windows
You are in water.
A little embarrassed, you slip away discreetly to find some air.
You have, in this precise situation, “the curtain that sticks to the windows”.
This little chastised formula means "to sweat excessively", to have clothes that stick to the skin when one is very hot.
● Sweat like an ox
In the past, oxen were harnessed to pull heavy cargo in carts.
The tired animals were puffing loudly (hence the expression "puffing like an ox"), and sweating profusely.
This is why we associate the beast with the unpleasant fact of sweating.
● Dodger
Originally from Provence and Languedoc, the dreaded “dodger” is a “sunny place sheltered from the wind”, according to the Trésor de la langue française.
By extension, it is also a “scorching sun”.
The word hides an astonishing origin.
Formerly, it designated a “public house”, and until the 19th century, a “reduced, a miserable shelter”.
The "dodger" was this unclosed and more or less warm shelter, where vagabonds gathered.
As an adjective, it also designates someone indolent, nonchalant.
● Basking in the pill
This expression was formed after "gilding the pill", which has existed since the 17th century.
It was used as a synonym for "presenting under a misleading appearance, too favorable", informs Georges Planelles in
The 1001 favorite expressions of the French.
This meaning is explained by the fact that the pills were supposed to have a positive effect on a number of ailments.
However, they had an infamous taste, and could stick together.
It was not until the 20th century that the expression took on its pronominal form, before meaning, for about twenty years: “to tan, to bask in the sun”.
● It's hot, a blazing sun
It is heavy, very heavy.
What better image than that of lead, to illustrate this unpleasant dampness that sneaks under our clothes?
The “blazing sun” is by metaphor “very heavy, ardent, overwhelming”, informs the dictionary.
The expression appeared in the 19th century.
It is notably popularized by Lamartine in one of his writings.