My Favorite English and French Expressions (and Why I Love How They Sound)

Some expressions stay with you. Not because they’re efficient or polite, but because they sound good, feel right, and carry a whole attitude inside them. As a teacher, I’ve always loved those moments when a learner hears an expression for the first time and asks, Why would anyone say that? And then, a little later, Oh… I get it.

This is a personal list of some of my favorite expressions in English and French. Many of them are informal, regional, or slightly old-fashioned. None of them represent “perfect” language. That’s exactly why they’re interesting.

Before diving into the list, one idea that helps learners relax.

Accent, dialect, language: a quick reset

An accent is about sound: how we pronounce vowels, where we place stress, the rhythm and melody of speech. Everyone has one. What we often call “neutral” is usually just what we’re used to hearing.

A dialect goes further. It includes accent, but also grammar, vocabulary, and expressions. When someone says ain’t, y’all, or fixing to, they’re not breaking English. They’re using a dialect that follows its own internal logic.

A language is often a political or cultural label rather than a scientific one. What matters in everyday life is whether people understand each other and share meaning.

Language is a natural human experience: sounds first, meaning second. Different groups attribute meaning to sounds in different ways. That’s not something to correct — it’s something to listen to.

With that in mind, here are my favorites.

🇺🇸 My favorite English expressions (Southern and informal)

Haven’t seen you in a month of Sundays

“I haven’t seen you in a month of Sundays” is one of those expressions that immediately exaggerates time in a warm, almost affectionate way. Nobody is counting Sundays. It just means a long time, said with a smile. It often appears right at the beginning of a conversation and softens the idea of absence rather than emphasising it.

How it’s typically used

• Friendly reunions

• Informal spoken English

• Expressing pleasure at seeing someone again

Example uses

• “Well, I haven’t seen you in a month of Sundays!”

• “It’s been a month of Sundays since we last talked.”

Haven’t seen you since you were knee-high to a grasshopper

“I haven’t seen you since you were knee-high to a grasshopper” is playful, rural, and deeply visual. Learners don’t always know what a grasshopper looks like, but they instantly understand the intention: you were very small. It’s nostalgic rather than precise and places the speaker in a storytelling position.

How it’s typically used

• Talking to someone you knew as a child

• Older or rural registers

• Light, affectionate humour

Example uses

• “I haven’t seen you since you were knee-high to a grasshopper.”

• “Last time I saw her, she was knee-high to a grasshopper.”

At the crack of dawn

“At the crack of dawn” is pure sound and image. You almost hear something breaking open. Learners tend to like it because it feels physical and immediate. There’s no need to define an exact time — it simply means very early.

How it’s typically used

• Talking about schedules

• Complaining about early mornings

Example uses

• “We had to leave at the crack of dawn.”

• “He’s up at the crack of dawn every day.”

You can do that till the cows come home

“You can do that till the cows come home” is wonderfully flexible. Sometimes it suggests patience, sometimes futility, sometimes quiet irony. The image does the work: time passing slowly, almost stubbornly.

How it’s typically used

• Giving advice

• Expressing doubt about results

Example uses

• “You can argue till the cows come home — it won’t change her mind.”

• “Practice till the cows come home if it makes you feel better.”

Madder than a wet hen

Someone who is “madder than a wet hen” isn’t just angry — they’re spectacularly angry. It’s exaggerated to the point of comedy, which is why it often feels lighter than a direct description of anger.

How it’s typically used

• Storytelling

• Describing emotional outbursts

Example uses

• “She was madder than a wet hen when she found out.”

• “He came storming in, madder than a wet hen.”

Running around like a chicken with its head cut off

This expression describes chaos perfectly. The image is absurd but instantly clear, which is why learners remember it. It’s rarely judgemental — more observational than critical.

How it’s typically used

• Work stress

• Disorganised situations

Example uses

• “Everyone’s running around like a chicken with its head cut off.”

• “I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off all morning.”

Not the sharpest tool in the shed

“Not the sharpest tool in the shed” is a softened judgement. The metaphor allows the speaker to criticise behaviour without sounding openly cruel — at least in theory.

How it’s typically used

• Indirect criticism

• Evaluating decisions rather than people

Example uses

• “He’s nice, but he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.”

• “That wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed moment.”

When pigs fly

“When pigs fly” expresses impossibility in a playful way. It invites humour rather than confrontation and shuts down unrealistic expectations gently.

How it’s typically used

• Joking refusals

• Expressing disbelief

Example uses

• “Sure, I’ll do that — when pigs fly.”

• “He’ll admit he was wrong when pigs fly.”

You can put kittens in the oven but that don’t make them biscuits

This is one of my favorite expressions! It’s shocking, memorable, and oddly logical. You can change appearances, settings, or labels — identity remains what it is. It’s folksy wisdom delivered through absurdity.

How it’s typically used

• Commenting on identity or authenticity

• Moral reasoning in informal speech

Example uses

• “You can put kittens in the oven, but that don’t make them biscuits.”

• “Call it what you want — kittens in the oven don’t make biscuits.”

Ain’t

Few words create as much anxiety as ain’t. Yet it has existed for centuries and follows clear grammatical patterns. It signals identity, not ignorance, and it does real communicative work.

How it’s typically used

• Informal speech

• Strong regional or social identity

Example uses

• “I ain’t ready yet.”

• “She ain’t coming tonight.”

Y’all

Y’all solves a real problem in English: plural “you.” It’s efficient, inclusive, and often warmer than the standard alternative.

How it’s typically used

• Addressing groups

• Friendly or informal tone

Example uses

• “Are y’all ready?”

• “I’ll see y’all tomorrow.”

Fixing to do something

Fixing to expresses intention with immediacy. It sits somewhere between planning and action and fills a gap learners often feel in English.

How it’s typically used

• Talking about near-future actions

• Informal spoken English

Example uses

• “I’m fixing to leave.”

• “She’s fixing to call him.”

Bless your heart

“Bless your heart” may sound kind, and sometimes it is. But said with the right tone, it becomes beautifully condescending. It’s a reminder that meaning lives in delivery, not vocabulary.

How it’s typically used

• Polite criticism

• Socially acceptable sarcasm

Example uses

• “Well, bless your heart…”

• “He really tried, bless his heart.”

🇫🇷 My favorite French expressions

Quand les poules auront des dents works exactly like “when pigs fly,” with the same humour and the same gentle refusal.

Ça arrive is one of my favourites. It removes responsibility from the individual and places the situation in the hands of life, fate, or God, depending on how you hear it. It calms things down.

C’est la vie has travelled so far that non-French speakers say it in French. That alone tells us something about how attitudes move between languages.

Petit à petit, l’oiseau fait son nid reminds us that progress is slow and cumulative. No urgency. No drama.

On n’y voit que dalle gives frustration a very direct, informal voice.

Partir dans tous les sens captures mental and situational chaos perfectly.

Se donner à fond values effort over perfection.

And poser un lapin names a social experience you understand immediately once you’ve lived it.

A final thought

These expressions aren’t useful because they’re “correct.” They’re useful because they’re alive. They invite learners to listen, to notice, and to accept that fluency is about participation, not purity.

Collect expressions. Listen to how people actually speak. That’s where language really lives.