The French expression “ne pas savoir si c’est du lard ou du cochon” translates literally to “to know know if it’s bacon or pork”. English meanings include:
- to not know what to think
The whole idea with this metaphor is that it’s hard to tell the difference between two things that are basically the same. A French meaning on wordreference.com is “ne pas savoir a quoi s’en tenir”, or to not know where you are with somebody.
Il nous a dit qu’il arrive soit cette semaine ou soit la semaine prochaine, mais on ne sais jamais si c’est du lard ou du cochon avec lui. He told us he’s arriving either this week or next week. But, you never know what to think with him.
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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.
