sentir le lapin

The French expression “sentir le lapin” translates literally to “to smell the rabbit”.

English meaning:

  • to have one foot in the grave

French meaning:

  • être près de la fin de la vie – to be near the end of life

Example sentence:

  • Sylvain est malade depuis très longtemps et il ne va pas bien : ça sent le lapin. Sylvain has been sick for a very long time and he’s not going well. He has one foot in the grave.

Related expression:

  • avoir un pied dans la tombe – Literally: to have one foot in the grave

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