Avoir le vent en poupe is a French idiom that translates directly to “to have the wind in the stern” and means both “to have the wind in your sails” and “to be all the rage”. The expression dates from the 14th century and is used to describe a person who’s favored by circumstances, lucky and pushed towards success.
Avoir le vent en poupe
to have the wind in your sails, to be all the rage
Example sentences
For this first sentence, l’homme politique means “politician”. Other terms are un(e) politique as well as un(e) politicien/politicienne.
Il parait que l’homme politique ne doit pas faire grand-chose pour gagner l’élection. Il a le vent en poupe.
It seems that the politician doesn’t have to do much to win the election. He has the wind in his sails.
For this second sentence, avait is the imperfect form of avoir (to have), meaing “used to have”.
Hello Kitty avait le vent en poupe au Japon pendant très longtemps.
Hello Kitty was was all the rage in Japan for a very long time.
Study resource
Related lessons
Reference
French expressions | Lessons by David Issokson
