C’est la fin des haricots is a French expression that translates literally to “it’s the end of the beans” and means “that’s the last straw” or “game over!” An equivalant English idiom is “the goose is cooked”. A French translation is tout est perdu (everything is lost).
C’est la fin des haricots
that’s the last straw, game over
Example sentence
On a tout essayé pour démarrer la voiture. Après une heure on s’est dit: “c’est la fin des haricots”.
We tried everything to start the car. After one hour we said, “that’s the last straw.”
In the historical context, beans were a staple food which the masses depended on. When they ran out, disaster ensued.
Grammatical notes
- Essayer means “to try”. The form essayer de + infinitive means “to try to do something”.
- Dire means “to say” or “to tell”. In the reflexive from se dire means “to say to yourself” or “to say to other” This is an example of a reciprocal reflexive verb.
- The pronoun on has many translations including “we”.
- Démarrer means to start in the context of starting an engine.
French has another expression:
- La goutte d’eau qui fait déborder le vase – Literally “the drop of the water that makes the vase overflow”.
Related lessons
- Finir conjugation tables and example sentences
- Laisse tomber – never mind
- Que dalle – absolutely nothing
- Ce n’est pas grave – It’s no bid deal
French expressions | Lessons by David Issokson
