French Expression of the Day: À la traîne

Why do I need to know à la traîne ?

Because you probably would prefer to be the opposite of this expression

What does it mean?

À la traîne - roughly pronounced ah lah trahynn - is actually nothing to do with trains.

It means to “lag behind” or to be “at the end" or "at the bottom of the class". 

It is the opposite of the expression “en avance” which is used to describe the person or group 'in the front' or 'at the top.'

The expression is likely derived from the verb ‘traîner’ in French means ‘to drag’ - usually used when a physical item is trailing behind.

You might see French media make use of this phrase when discussing a topic or theme that has been on the back-burner or less of a priority, as it is often ‘lagging behind’ other items.

Not to be confused with

This sounds similar to the phrase “en train de,” which has a totally different meaning - it means "in the process of" or "in the course of".

Use it like this

Elle était à la traîne par rapport au reste de la classe dans l'apprentissage de la table de multiplication. – She is lagging behind the rest of the class in learning the multiplication table.

L'article explique que les salaires des enseignants sont toujours à la traîne par rapport à ceux des autres professions, notamment en ce qui concerne les augmentations de salaire. – The article explains that teachers’ salaries are always trailing behind those of other professions, particularly concerning pay raises.