“Donner sa langue au chat” is a funny little French expression which has a meaning that’s impossible to guess. The literal translation is “to give one’s tongue to the cat”. English translations include:
- to give up
- to give in
According to expressio.fr, a French-to-French definition is “to give up trying to find or guess a solution. Another French definition is “abandonner l’idée de faire quelque chose” or giving up the idea to do something.
example sentence:
- Les problèmes d’algèbre sont tellement difficiles: je finis toujours par donner ma langue au chat. Algebra problems are so difficult. I always give up in the end.
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. 
