The French expression “une histoire à dormir debout” translates literally to “a story to sleep standing”. A loose translation is “a story about sleeping standing up”. Unbelievable, right? Here are some English meanings:
- cock-and-bull story
- tall story
The French expressions site, expressio.fr suggests “à dormir debout” means unbelievable, implausible, absurd or illogical.
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- Il m’a raconté comment il s’est battu dans chaque guerre depuis la Seconde Guerre mondiale: ce sont des histoires à dormir debout! He hold me how he’d fought in each war since World War II. Cock-and-bull stories!
There’s another great synonymous expression for “une histoire a dormir debout:
- une histoire sans queue ni tête – A story with neither tail nor head
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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.
