avoir d'autres chats à fouetter
/a.vwaʁ dotʁ ʃa a fwɛ.te/
le (masc.) la (fem.)
Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.
Forms
- present
- a d'autres chats à fouetter
- past
- a eu d'autres chats à fouetter
- perfect
- eu d'autres chats à fouetter
Meaning
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to have other fish to fry
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Il a d'autres chats à fouetter en ce moment.
He has other fish to fry right now.
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Le ministre avait d'autres chats à fouetter que de répondre à cette question mineure. Son attaché de presse a dû s'en charger.
The minister had bigger things to worry about than answering that minor question. His press officer had to handle it.
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Similar words
avoir d'autres poissons à frire
Two colorful idioms for "to have other fish to fry" — one literally says "other cats to whip," the other "other fish to fry," both meaning the same thing, largely interchangeable.
Practice
1 What does avoir d'autres chats à fouetter mean?
to have other fish to fry
2 Fill the gap: Il a d'autres chats à ___ en ce moment.
Full sentence: Il a d'autres chats à fouetter en ce moment. (He has other fish to fry right now.)
3 Which fingerprint chart matches avoir d'autres chats à fouetter?
avoir d'autres chats à fouetter: neutral register, common frequency, general domain, neutral connotation.
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