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Rester en carafe

👉 See also: Rester conjugation charts (with audio) »

The French expression “rester en carafe” translates literally to “to stay in the decanter”. English meanings include the following:

  • to be left stranded
  • to be left high and dry
  • to break down

Expressio.fr offers lots of interesting meanings: 1) To feel frustrated, abandoned and forgotten; 2) To be left on your own and 3) To not be able to find your words (when giving a speech). What’s more, the expression “tomber en carafe” means “tomber en panne” (to break down).

Here’s an example sentence:

  • Le matin de la tempête de neige nous n’avons pas pu monter le col. On est resté en carafe et a attendu trois heures pour la dépanneuse. The morning of the snowstorm we weren’t able to get over the mountain pass. We were suck and waited three hours for the tow truck.

more French expressions

    David Issokson

    About the Author โ€“ David Issokson David Issokson is an online French teacher and the founder of FrenchLearner.com (established 2012). He has been teaching French online since 2014 and brings over 30 years of experience as a passionate French learner and fluent speaker. David creates clear, structured lessons supported by native audio recorded by Marie Assel Cambier, a professional voice artist and native French speaker. A graduate of McGill University in Montreal, he has taught hundreds of learners worldwide and publishes daily French lessons for more than 12,000 email subscribers. ๐Ÿ“˜ About David ยป ๐ŸŒ Davidโ€™s personal site ยป ๐Ÿ‘ Follow on Facebook ยป

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