“Chercher midi à quatorze heures” is a comical French expression that translates literally to “to look for noon at 2.00pm”. Here are some English meanings:
- to complicate things
- to do things the hard way
Basically, the idiom means to complicate an issue that should be very simple in the first place.
Here’s an example sentence:
- Pourquoi est-ce que tu cherches midi à quatorze heures? D’abord tu fais la pâte et ensuite tu fais la pizza! Why are you complicating things? First make the dough, then make the pizza!
Here are some synonyms:
- compliquer la vie – to complicate life
- embrouiller – to muddle, confuse
- tout compliquer – to complicate everything
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David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six 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 online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.
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Bonjour! My name is David Issokson. I'm based in Victor, Idaho (near Jackson, Wyoming) and have helped hundreds of students to learn French online since 2013.
