Avoir les deux pieds dans le même sabot

Avoir les deux pieds dans le même sabot is a French idiom which translates literally to “to have both feet in the same clog” and means “to sit back and do nothing”.

Avoir les deux pieds dans le même sabot

to sit back and do nothing

Example sentence:

For the example sentence, I translate today’s idiom to “to sit back and wait for things to happen”. Il faut (it’s necessary) has many translations including “you have to”.

Pour trouver du travail, il ne faut pas absolument pas avoir les deux pieds dans un sabot. Il faut être motivé et appeler les gens tous les jours.

To find work, you absolutely mustn’t sit back and wait for things to happen. You have to be motivated and call people everyday.

Related lessons

• Boulot – work
• Paresseux – lazy
• Feignant – lazy

French expressions | Lessons by David Issokson

David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language learner and speaks over seven languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private lessons. When not teaching or writing his French Word of the Day lessons, David enjoys his time skiing, hiking and mountain biking in Victor, Idaho.

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