“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
Bonjour! My name is David Issokson. I'm based in Victor, Idaho and have helped hundreds of students to learn French via Skype or Zoom since 2014. 
