/seʁe kɔm de saʁdin/ lit. ‘squeezed together like sardines’
French idiom, everyday. Packed tightly together in a crowded place.
Draft Not yet checked by a native French speaker.
How do people use Serrés comme des sardines
?
Everyday French for packed buses, metro carriages, concerts and family cars on holiday. Serrés agrees with the people (“on était serrées comme des sardines” for a group of women) and the sardines are always plural. It’s usually with être: “on était serrés comme des sardines”.
Also said serré comme des sardines
Serrés comme des sardines
in real sentences
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Les passagers sont serrés comme des sardines dans les autobus urbains.
Passengers are packed in like sardines on city buses.
Tatoeba, sentence by sacredceltic, translation by sacredceltic, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Serrés comme des sardines
come from?
French Wiktionary links it to sardines packed into tins, or to the tight shoals sardines swim in, but marks that explanation as needing a source. It gives no date or quotation. The older fish in the same job is the herring: “serrés comme des harengs en caque” refers to herrings salted and packed in barrels.
Mistakes learners make with Serrés comme des sardines
Saying “serrés comme une sardine”. The comparison is with a whole tin of fish, so it’s always “des sardines”, plural.
Other French idioms like Serrés comme des sardines
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