“Avoir une araignée au plafond” is a comical French expression that translates literally to “to have a spider on the ceiling”.
English meanings:
- to have a few screws loose
- to have bats in the belfry
A French meaning is “être un peu fou mais sans etre gênant aux autres” (to be a bit crazy but not bothersome to others”.
example sentence:
- Tout le monde sait que Géralde a une araignée au plafond parce qu’il n’arrête jamais de se parler tout seul. Everybody knows Geralde has a few screws loose because he never stops talking to himself.
synonym expressions:
- avoir une case de vide – Literally: to have an empty compartment
- avoir une case en moins – Literally: to have one less compartment
- avoir un grain – Literally: to have a seed
- travailler du chapeau – Literally: to work from the hat
