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Avoir les jetons (To have the jitters)

Avoir les jetons (To have the jitters)

Avoir les jetons is a French idiom that translates literally to “to have the chips” and means “to be petrified”, “to have the jitters” or simply to be scared.

Avoir les jetons

to be petrified, have the jitters, to be scared

Avoir les jetons - to be petrified, have the jitters, to be scared

Example sentence

For the example sentence, j’ai dû is the passé composé of the verb devoir (must, to have to).

Pour descendre la montagne j’ai dû prendre le télésiège. Normalement je n’ai pas le vertige mais cette fois j’ai eu les jetons !

To go down the mountain I had to take the chairlift. Normally I’m not afraid of heights but this time I was petrified.

Origin

The expression has to to with earning one’s salary and going to the roulette table and experiencing fear when placing a bet and losing everything.

Reference
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David Issokson
David Issokson is the founder and French teacher of Frenchlearner.com. With over 30 years of experience as a French learner and speaker, he is passionate about making the language accessible and enjoyable for everyone. David is dedicated to providing clear, practical, and effective resources to help you master French. Learn more about FrenchLearner on our about us page. Visit davidissokson.com, David's personal website.

David Issokson

David Issokson is the founder and French teacher of Frenchlearner.com. With over 30 years of experience as a French learner and speaker, he is passionate about making the language accessible and enjoyable for everyone. David is dedicated to providing clear, practical, and effective resources to help you master French. Learn more about FrenchLearner on our about us page. Visit davidissokson.com, David's personal website.

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