“Se renvoyer la balle” is a wonderful figurative French expression that translates literally to “to pass the ball”. English meanings include the following:
- to pass the buck
- to pass the parcel
A French definition on abc states the expression means: “Se rejeter les responsabilités les uns sur les autres”, to reject responsibility between individuals. Said a bit differently, “renvoyer la balle à quelqu’un” means to blame somebody else.
Here’s an example sentence:
Speed up your learning with an app
Many of our students have greatly enhanced their learning by using an app. On these pages we've examined the top-30 apps for learning French. On this pages we've written comprehensive reviews for Pimsleur (great for people struggling with pronunciation), Rosetta Stone and FrenchPod101 (both great for visual learners).
- Les chômeurs téléphonent sans cesse au gouvernement pour l’assurance-chômage mais les départements n’arrêtent pas de se renvoyer la balle. The unemployed are calling the government for unemployment benefits non-stop but the departments won’t stop passing the buck.
Here are two more great expressions for renvoyer la balle:
- rejeter la faute sur qqn – to put the blame on somebody else
- faire porter le chapeau à qqn – to make somebody else wear the hat
If you've found this post useful you might want to considering looking at our post covering the best apps for learning French. We've looked a total 33 apps and have written comprehensive reviews of Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur and FrenchPod101.
- How To Say No Problem In French + 7 Fun Expressions - May 18, 2022
- 12 Most Famous French Male Singers Of All Time - May 17, 2022
- 20 Most Common Ways To Say Hello In French - May 16, 2022
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.
