/tuʁne otuʁ dy po/ lit. ‘circle the pot’
French idiom, familiar. To avoid saying the important thing directly.
Draft Not yet checked by a native French speaker.
How do people use Tourner autour du pot
?
Familiar but safe almost anywhere, and you’ll hear it most as an order: “arrête de tourner autour du pot” (stop beating around the bush) or “ne tourne pas autour du pot”. To promise you’ll be blunt, say “je ne vais pas tourner autour du pot”. It’s for talking, never for physically walking around something.
Also said rôder autour du pot
Tourner autour du pot
in real sentences
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Arrête de tourner autour du pot.
Stop beating around the bush.
Tatoeba, sentence by sacredceltic, translation by sacredceltic, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Je ne vais pas tourner autour du pot.
I’m not going to beat around the bush.
Tatoeba, sentence by lbdx, translation by ddnktr, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Tourner autour du pot
come from?
Nobody knows what pot is meant, and French Wiktionary doesn’t guess. It cites the Académie française dictionary (8th edition, 1930s) as a reference, and English Wiktionary points out the same picture in Dutch, “rond de pot draaien”.
Mistakes learners make with Tourner autour du pot
Pronouncing the t of pot. It’s /po/, so the phrase ends on a plain “o” sound. The English bush doesn’t carry over either: “battre autour du buisson” means nothing in French.
Other French idioms like Tourner autour du pot
Spot a mistake in Tourner autour du pot
?
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