/avwaʁ œ̃ ʃa dɑ̃ la ɡɔʁʒ/ lit. ‘a cat in your throat’
French idiom, everyday. Your voice has gone rough or croaky for a moment, so it’s hard to speak clearly.
Draft Not yet checked by a native French speaker.
How do people use Avoir un chat dans la gorge
?
Everyday French, polite enough for a meeting or a classroom. Mostly in the first person as an excuse: “pardon, j’ai un chat dans la gorge”. With a name: “Marie a un chat dans la gorge”.
Avoir un chat dans la gorge
in real sentences
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J’ai un chat dans la gorge.
I’ve got a frog in my throat.
Tatoeba, sentence by TRANG, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Je ne peux pas parler, j’ai un chat dans la gorge.
I can’t talk, I’ve got a frog in my throat.
Where does Avoir un chat dans la gorge
come from?
French Wiktionary dates it to 1835, citing the Dictionnaire historique de la langue française. Why a cat is less clear. One theory, from Régina Maire’s 500 expressions françaises (2013), says it’s a mangled “maton”, an old word for curdled milk or a small lump (here, a lump of phlegm), which got confused with “matou” (tomcat). It’s a neat story, but nobody has shown the steps in print.
Mistakes learners make with Avoir un chat dans la gorge
Translating the English animal: “une grenouille dans la gorge” isn’t French. Same idea, different animal: in French it’s a cat.
Other French idioms like Avoir un chat dans la gorge
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?
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