The French idiom “avoir les dents longues” translates directly to “to have long teeth” and means to be fiercely ambitious, set your sights high or to not let anything get in your way. A French definition is “ambitieux” (to be ambitious).
avoir les dents longues
to be fiercely ambitious
Expression origin
This expression dates back to the 14th century when “to have long teeth” simply meant “to be hungry”. Overtime, the expression came to mean “to be ambitious”, with teeth symbolizing force and hunger being a metaphor for ambition.
Example sentences
L’entrepreneur a des dents longues et il souhaite prendre le contrôle du marché des ses concurrents.
The entrepreneur is very ambitious and wishes to take over his competitors’ market.
Il faut avoir les dents longues pour réussir dans cette industrie.
You need to be very ambitious to succeed in this industry.
Here are some other French was of expressing the same concept of being very ambitious.
- Déterminé à faire quelque chose – Lit: determined to do something
- Résolu à faire quelque chose – Lit: resolved to do something
- Être animé d’un esprit d’initiative – Lit: to have initiative spirit
- Être motivé – Lit: to be motivated
Resources
French expressions | Lessons by David Issokson
