You are in the right place to discover everything you want to know about the funny idiom "Être de mauvais poil". To be more specific, this includes a full definition of what it is and how to use it in a conversation with an audio example.Additionally, we also added some useful things like dialogue example, synonyms, slow pronunciation audio and more!
Translation : To be in a bad mood
Literal meaning : To be of bad hair
Register : Informal - Funny
Slow
Normal
IPA : / ɛtʁə də movɛ pwal /
This idiom comes from the 19th century and makes a direct link between hairs and the mood. Because hairs are the first thing that you see when you look at someone, even before the skin. (Physically speaking)
And "mentally" speaking, the mood is the first thing that we see when we look at someone. So, instead of saying that someone is in a bad mood, we say that this person is "of bad hair". Building a bridge between the mental and the body.
Let's imagine your brother wants to talk with your dad, but you noticed he is in a bad mood today. So you would say to your brother: "Ne lui parle pas, il est de mauvais poil aujourd'hui." (Don't talk to him, he is in a bad mood today.)
Another scenario, someone asks you: "How do you feel today?" and you don't feel good at all. Then instead of just saying "Pas très bien" (Not very good) you can say "Je suis de mauvais poil, et toi?" (I am in a bad mood, and you?)
We like this expression so much that we also have one to say the exact opposite: "Être de bon poil" (To be of good hair).
↓ Example in a story with slow French audio ↓
Finally, let's see an example in a parallel story with slow audio.
La journée commence mal
The day starts badly
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