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French expression of the day of the day: Crever de chaud

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French expression of the day of the day: Crever de chaud

Tomorrow will be steaming hot in France, so it could prove a good occasion to complain about something other than the coronavirus pandemic. Here's an expression to help you along.

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Why do I need to know crever de chaud?

Because Thursday is supposed to be the warmest day so far this year, so it could come in handy.

What does it mean?

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Crever de chaud means 'dying of heat'.

Not literally, of course, but if you feel like your skin is so hot that your blood might start boiling, this is a great way to express it. English equivalents would be 'I'm boiling' or 'I'm roasting'.

Je crève de chaud - I'm so hot I'm dying

Ca te dit qu'on se mette à l'ombre ? Je crève de chaud. - Do you mind if we move into the shade? I am boiling.

Faut boire de l'eau, sinon on va crever de chaud. - We have to drink water, otherwise we'll roast.

Crever is a colloquial French way of saying 'dying', and is usually used to express a strong feeling about something rather than actual death. 

A tyre can be crevé - flat.

Je suis crevé simply means 'I'm toast/exhausted'. (In this case you can also use mort - dead - which doesn't really work when you are talking about heat).

Synonyms

The French have a reputation both abroad and inside the country as being exceptionally good râleurs - complainers - and there are lots of ways to complain about the heat.

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