Au diable is a French expression that translates literally to “to the devil” and means “miles from anywhere” and “in the middle of nowhere”. The complete expression is “au diable Vauvert”, meaning “very far”.
au diable
miles from anywhere, in the middle of nowhere
Example sentence
Je vais devoir habiter dans une maison située au diable car il n’y a pas d’appartements diponibles au centre-ville.
I’m going to have to live in a house in the middle of nowhere because there are no available apartments downtown.
Just like English, French also has aller au diable (go to hell!).
J’en ai marre de ces gens. Ils peuvent aller au diable !
I’m sick of these people. They can go to hell!
Expression origin
There are mutliple theories for the origin of this expression. It is believed to be related ot the château de Vauvert, which prior to the 13the century was said to be a place for blasphemous acts and thus “not far from the devil”.
The expression may also originate from Vauvert, France, a stop on the way to the Camino de Santiago, where a character of the devil played in street performances.
One more theory is that because there were many places named “Vauvert” outside of Paris, venturing out of the capital simply meant to go to a distant place.
Related lessons
Resource
French expressions | Lessons by David Issokson
