“What the hell is that?”
We were riding the tramway to take Mark to the Jardin des plantes. I was busy drinking my can of Coke Zero behind the stroller, hoping Mark wouldn’t notice my caffeine fix—else he would whine non-stop to have a taste (not that we ever let him… he does NOT need coffee!).
“What is what?”
“This.”
Feng was pointing at a poster in the tramway.
“Oh, it just says that if you’re under 18, you can buy a yearly pass for…”
“No, no, I mean, what’s with the picture?”
The poster depicted a young Asian-looking girl with two fingers in her nose, one in each nostril.
I looked at Feng, puzzled.
“Why is she picking her nose?”
Suddenly, I understood Feng’s surprise.
“Fingers in the nose!” I laughed. “Les doigts dans le nez—it’s a French idiom, it’s used to describe something that’s super easy. I guess they want to show that buying the pass is the easiest and cheapest way to ride the tramway.”
“Seriously?”
“Well… yeah. Eh, don’t look at me like this, I didn’t invent it!”
Language is cultural, isn’t it!
I would’ve NEVER guessed that meaning on my own!
It is a weird idiom!
Beurk, I find the picture kind of disgusting, not the greatest ad idea!
Yeah, it’s not a great idea!
Indeed… Even though I’m French and know the idiom, I find the pic’ disgusting :/
I agree. Not an idiom I use a lot, actually.