/nə paz‿avwaʁ lɛz‿jø ɑ̃ fas dɛ tʁu/ lit. ‘not have your eyes in front of the holes’
French idiom, familiar. To miss something that is obvious to everyone else.
Draft Not yet checked by a native French speaker.
How do people use Ne pas avoir les yeux en face des trous
?
Familiar, often a friendly jab: “t’as pas les yeux en face des trous ?” when someone can’t see the keys right in front of them. It’s also how you describe yourself first thing in the morning, before coffee, when nothing is lined up yet. The positive form, “avoir les yeux en face des trous”, means being awake and seeing clearly.
Also said avoir les yeux en face des trous
Ne pas avoir les yeux en face des trous
in real sentences
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Marie n’a pas les yeux en face des trous.
Marie can’t see what’s right in front of her.
Tatoeba, sentence by nimfeo, CC BY 2.0 FR
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L’autre jour, tu n’avais pas vraiment les yeux en face des trous.
The other day you really weren’t seeing straight.
Tatoeba, sentence by U2FS, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Ne pas avoir les yeux en face des trous
come from?
The picture is a face, or a mask, where the eyes don’t line up with the eye holes, so you’re looking at the inside of your own head. French Wiktionary cites the 8th edition of the Académie française dictionary (1932 to 1935) for it, so it was established by then. Nobody seems to know who first said it.
Mistakes learners make with Ne pas avoir les yeux en face des trous
Dropping the negation and expecting the same meaning. “Avoir les yeux en face des trous” on its own means you’re seeing clearly, and in speech the “ne” usually disappears (“t’as pas les yeux en face des trous”), so learners can miss that the “pas” is doing the work.
Other French idioms like Ne pas avoir les yeux en face des trous
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?
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