April 10, 2009
[Edible Idiom] En faire tout un flan
This is part of a series on French idiomatic expressions that relate to food. Browse the list of idioms featured so far.
This week's idiom is, "En faire (tout) un flan."
Literally translated as, "making a (whole) flan out of it," it is a colloquial expression that means making a big deal out of something insignificant, blowing something out of proportion.
It is comparable to the English expressions, "making a mountain out of a molehill," "making a song and dance about something," and two edible idioms, "a storm/tempest in a teacup/teapot," and "making a meal out of something."
Example: "Si le plan de table ne lui va pas, il faut le changer, sinon il va en faire tout un flan." "If the seating plan doesn't suit him, we have to change it, otherwise he'll make a whole flan out of it."
Listen to the idiom and example read aloud:
(If no player appears, here's a link to the audio file.)
This idiom is derived from the twentieth-century expression, "En faire (tout) un plat" (making a whole dish out of it), which also evolved into, "En faire (tout) un fromage" (making a whole cheese out of it). In all three cases, the idea is that the person takes what little there is, and turns it into something much more substantial: a few scraps into a whole dish; a little milk into a whole cheese; milk, eggs, and sugar into a whole flan.
You may also come across another version of this idiom, "Il n'y a pas de quoi en faire un flan" -- there isn't enough to make a flan out of it, or it's not worth making a fuss about.
Note: Pictured above is half of an excellent flan from the Poilâne bakery, which, incidentally, won second place in the Figaroscope's recent flan taste test.
More Entries Like This One:
~ Long comme un jour sans pain
~ Ménager la chèvre et le chou
~ Retomber comme un soufflé
~ Avoir/Prendre de la bouteille
~ Ce n'est pas de la tarte
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Comments (13)
Permalink | Posted by clotilde in French Idioms
I remember learning in French class about 'putting your foot in the plate'--these are interesting for linguistically minded people--I'm going to pass this on to my Francophile friends!
Posted by Rebecca on April 11, 2009 3:07 PMWhat a fantastic expression! So much more fun (and tasty) than mountains and molehills.
Posted by Camille on April 11, 2009 3:45 PMOh, please, we need a recipe for this!
Posted by Brenda on April 11, 2009 6:00 PMI love learning about unique food traditions, especially French ones. Thanks Clotilde. I enjoyed your round up of 7 new Parisian eateries on MSNBC as well.
--Marc
Posted by chefectomy on April 12, 2009 5:34 PMIsn't French much more eloquent than English! At least, I prefer the inspiration drawn for it :) I'd also hedge that more of us have made more flans than molehills - and know how difficult they can be!
Posted by Yasmin (Almond & The Hazelnut) on April 13, 2009 8:24 AMIn Yiddish there is an expression that someone is "making a tzimmes" out of something, which means roughly the same thing -- making a mountain out of a molehill. Tzimmes is a delicious stove-top or oven-stewed dish of carrots, honey and dried fruit, often with other ingredients added, such as sweet potatoes and even meat, like brisket. It's a very flexible (and delicious) dish.
Posted by Liz on April 13, 2009 8:14 PMHum, qu'est-ce que c'est bon, les flans !!!
Posted by Tatieva on April 14, 2009 9:01 AMC'est vrai qu'en France, on dit "En faire tout un flan", j'adore cette expression !!!
Kisses from France
Tatieva
Would you use this differently than "en faire tout un fromage?" which is what I hear a fair amount of down here in the Languedoc, or are they interchangeable? I love this series of expressions!
Posted by Abra Bennett on April 14, 2009 10:15 PMAbra - You would use them interchangeably. The "flan" variation is more recent, so you could target your audience according to their age. :)
Posted by clotilde on April 14, 2009 10:49 PMI've always wanted to learn French but I don't think my tongue twists that way!
Posted by Phil on April 15, 2009 1:26 AMmmm, i don't know about the flan, but that polaroid sure looks appetizing!
cheers (:
Posted by kim on April 21, 2009 1:57 PMFunny, in spanish "estar hecho un flan", something along the lines of "être un flan", means to be really scared.
Posted by Micky on April 22, 2009 9:41 PMParlant des flans, je lisais La vie devant soi, et le petit Momo parlais de "rester comme deux ronds de flan...."
Il parait qu'on peut aussi faire un travail a la flan.
Bravo pour l'idee de faire les edible idioms!
Posted by Charles on June 23, 2009 8:13 PM