il y a de l’eau dans le gaz

“Il y a de l’eau dans le gaz” is a French expression that translates directly to: “there is water in the gas”.

English meanings:

• things are not running too smoothly
• trouble in brewing

This expression is a culinary metaphor. The idea is that when something goes array in the kitchen, the water boils over the pot and ends up on the gas stove.

French meanings:

• Ça ne va pas très bien – it’s not going every well
• l’atmosphère est tendue – the atmosphere is tense
• des querelles se préparent – altercations are brewing

Example sentence:

• Malheureusment ça ne va pas très bien entre mon colocataire et moi. Il y a de l’eau dans le gaz. It’s not going well between my roommate and me. Things are not running too smoothly.

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