avoir un balai dans le cul
/a.vwaʁ œ̃ ba.lɛ dɑ̃ lə ky/
le (masc.) la (fem.)
Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.
Forms
- present
- a un balai dans le cul
- past
- a eu un balai dans le cul
- perfect
- eu un balai dans le cul
Meaning
-
to be stiff, uptight (vulgar)
-
Il a un balai dans le cul, il ne rit jamais.
He's so uptight, he never laughs.
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Son nouveau voisin avait un balai dans le cul dès qu'on abordait la politique. Les dîners entre voisins sont devenus plus rares.
Her new neighbor got stiff and uptight the moment politics came up. Dinners between neighbors became rarer after that.
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Usage notes
Vulgar and crude — literally "to have a broom up one's backside." Used mockingly about someone rigid or humorless. Common in casual speech among friends in France, but never appropriate in polite, professional, or formal settings. Milder alternatives: «coincé», «rigide», «guindé».
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