French expression of the Day: Pris pour un pigeon
One for the less streetwise among us.
Why do I need to know pris pour un pigeon?
Because if you pay €8 for an espresso on the Champs-Elysées, this phrase likely applies to you.
What does it mean?
Pris pour un pigeon literally means 'taken for a pigeon' but its usage is the same as being scammed, duped, conned or taken for a fool.
If you have just been ripped off, the correct usage would be: on m’a pris pour un pigeon.
According to several online dictionaries, the phrase comes from the 15th century and is also the root of the English word 'duped'.
The story goes that a species of bird called the hoopoe (huppe) with magnificent crest feathers was common in Europe. When these beautiful feathers were plucked, the bird would be considered dé-huppé - which is where the French word dupé and the English duped come from.
Pigeons eventually became a symbol for the easily duped in France because they were far more common than huppes and did not possess the beautiful crest.
It is worth mentioning that being ‘taken for a pigeon’ is not the only bird-based insult in French. If you are the ‘le dindon de la farce’, it means you are the butt of the joke – or literally speaking, ‘the turkey of the farce’.
Use it like this
On m’a pris pour un pigeon - They have scammed me
Je me suis fait prendre pour un pigeon - I have been scammed
Other alternatives
Je me suis fait roulé dans la farine - I have been fooled (literally, I have been rolled in flour)
Je me suis fait arnaqué - I have been ripped off
Je me suis fait escroqué - I have been scammed
Je me suis fait dupé - I have been duped
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See Also
Why do I need to know pris pour un pigeon?
Because if you pay €8 for an espresso on the Champs-Elysées, this phrase likely applies to you.
What does it mean?
Pris pour un pigeon literally means 'taken for a pigeon' but its usage is the same as being scammed, duped, conned or taken for a fool.
If you have just been ripped off, the correct usage would be: on m’a pris pour un pigeon.
According to several online dictionaries, the phrase comes from the 15th century and is also the root of the English word 'duped'.
The story goes that a species of bird called the hoopoe (huppe) with magnificent crest feathers was common in Europe. When these beautiful feathers were plucked, the bird would be considered dé-huppé - which is where the French word dupé and the English duped come from.
Pigeons eventually became a symbol for the easily duped in France because they were far more common than huppes and did not possess the beautiful crest.
It is worth mentioning that being ‘taken for a pigeon’ is not the only bird-based insult in French. If you are the ‘le dindon de la farce’, it means you are the butt of the joke – or literally speaking, ‘the turkey of the farce’.
Use it like this
On m’a pris pour un pigeon - They have scammed me
Je me suis fait prendre pour un pigeon - I have been scammed
Other alternatives
Je me suis fait roulé dans la farine - I have been fooled (literally, I have been rolled in flour)
Je me suis fait arnaqué - I have been ripped off
Je me suis fait escroqué - I have been scammed
Je me suis fait dupé - I have been duped
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