Skip to Content

se mettre le doigt dans l’oeil

Se mettre le doigt dans l’oeil is a bit of a rough French expression that translates literally to “to put a finger in the eye”. In a bit stronger language and in Canada the idiom is “se fourrer le doigt dans l’oeil”, which means to stuff a finger in the eye. Here are the various meanings of this expression:

  • to be kidding yourself
  • to be barking up the wrong tree
  • to be entirely mistaken

A French-to-French translation is se tromper complètement or to totally mess up.

Here’s an example sentence:

  • Ceux qui pensent que le crise sera bientôt fini se mettent le doigt dans l’oeil. C’est loin d’être terminé. Those who think the crisis will soon be over are kidding themselves. The crisis is far from over.

more resources

back to main expressions page

    David Issokson

    About the Author – 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. 📘 About David » 🌐 David’s personal site » 👍 Follow on Facebook »

    See all posts by