July 24, 2009
[Edible Idiom] Retomber comme un soufflé
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, "Retomber comme un soufflé."
Literally translated as, "Falling back like a soufflé," it is a colloquial expression that means running out of steam in a quick and sudden way: after an initial phase of enthusiasm, an idea, an initiative, or a phenomenon (but not a person) loses momentum, as the interest for it wanes.
Example: "Il y a eu tout un battage médiatique autour du projet, et puis c'est retombé comme un soufflé." "There was a lot of media hype around the project, and then it fell back like a soufflé."
Listen to the idiom and example read aloud:
(If no player appears, here's a link to the audio file.)
As any cook who has ever attempted to make (or even just considered making) a soufflé knows, the egg white-raised preparation is indeed quick to deflate, and it is this structural flaw that the expression refers to: while the fresh-out-of-the-oven, puffy soufflé garners admirative gasps from the crowds, its sunken version may fail to sustain their interest.
Note that this expression is frequently misspelled as, "retomber comme un soufflet." Depending on the speaker's accent, soufflet can sound very much like soufflé, but it means bellows.
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Comments (20)
Permalink | Posted by clotilde in French Idioms
Much nicer imagery than "I ran out of gas". I may have to use this one.
Posted by Erin on July 24, 2009 7:28 PMI love these idioms (and appreciate the reminder tweets). Also interesting to learn French for "media hype." Merci, Clotilde.
Posted by Mary on July 24, 2009 8:49 PMWho takes your beautiful photos?
Posted by Jeff Reid on July 24, 2009 11:52 PMOh dear Lord, 'souffle' and 'soufflet' aren't homonyms??? Arrgh, I'll never learn French!!
Posted by Alix on July 25, 2009 1:58 AMErin, if you don't like the "ran out of gas" idiom, another English one is "losing the wind in your sails" or something close to that.
Posted by Ruth Adams on July 25, 2009 5:27 AMThe author Nancy Mitford (who was, of course, a terrific Francophile and lived for many years in the rue Monsieur) used the expression: "like a cold spoon in the soufflé", which seems similar.
Posted by Mrs Redboots on July 25, 2009 1:37 PMI seem to 'fall back like a soufflé' quite often, so thanks for this great imagery !
I've always related 'running out of steam' to America's passion for progress--locomotive trains. I'm switching to 'falling back like a soufflé--a reminder of the French passion for food.
Posted by Gwendolyn on July 25, 2009 2:58 PMAll - Glad you like that one, too!
Jeff - I do. Thank you! :)
Alix - The difference is subtle, but the sound "-é" is a little more acute than the sound "-et". But some French people (I think it's a mildly regional thing) pronounce them both the same way, so you can absolutely get away with it!
Erin, Ruth, and Gwendolyn - Note that the French expression is only used to talk about a thing, such as a project or a trend, never a person. That's not to say you can't use it in English however you please (that's the beauty of borrowing foreign idioms!) but it would sound a bit strange in French.
Posted by clotilde on July 25, 2009 3:54 PMHow beautiful!!
Posted by Sam on July 25, 2009 6:17 PMI love how you say the name, Clotilde!
VERY good to know! Thanks, Clotilde, for clarifying. Although my husband would sometimes agree that I am quite a project as people go ~ a work in progress. I'm not too trendy, though, so I suppose I will save this idiom for things . . .
Posted by Gwendolyn on July 25, 2009 7:37 PMI wonder what would be the equivalent of this expression for a person? Preferably food-related, of course! :)
Posted by Theresa on July 25, 2009 9:10 PMAt least in American English, we sometimes say "to collapse like a souffle."
Posted by Kathie on July 26, 2009 5:19 PMInteresting - and nice to learn the correct phrase for "media hype " too :)
Posted by Rhiannon on July 26, 2009 9:52 PMHm, see if I can work it into a conversation today.
Clothilde, though I have every intention of keeping a close eye on C&Z, please can you tell me of any events you are running over the next few months as I am currently hyperventilating with excitement for being transferred to Paris with work!
Take care
Hayley
Posted by hbw on July 27, 2009 2:18 PMVery interesting, thanks for sharing! :)
Posted by Sachi's Kitchen on July 27, 2009 6:19 PMJoyeux anniversaire, Clotilde ! Merci pour la douceur que vous partagez avec nous.
Posted by Marion on July 27, 2009 9:59 PMha! I love this. Even mundane words in French sounds beautiful. I just sat here and tried to repeat the phrase over and over to memorize it, though my accent is totally awful.
Posted by Cynthia on July 28, 2009 4:55 AMI like this one - and I can relate to it well!
Posted by maris on July 30, 2009 12:10 AMWow, I absolutely love the idioms! I just started French school here in France last month, and I will take any fun, random language tidbits I can get. Thanks especially for the recordings.
Posted by Ruth on August 1, 2009 10:30 PMAnother example of how much prettier the French language is!
Posted by Stephanie on August 15, 2009 5:23 PM