The Power of the French Simile

Il pleut comme vache qui pisse.

Kari (see blog link to the right) recently learned this phrase in her continued efforts to "French it up" since she's been living in Lyon. Besides being overjoyed that I remembered enough French to understand the phrase before reading her elaboration, I also found the profundity of the saying to be blog-worthy. On my blog, not hers, I mean.

Translated, the phrase means "It's raining like a peeing cow." I mean, seriously...don't you just want to walk up to someone and say it? Now, if taken literally, I could expand on its meaning with an example from last night.

The fifth worst storm on record in North Texas happened last night. While Denton missed the brunt of the winds (up to 100 mph in some areas), the southern portion of DFW was slammed and 300,000 people have no power today. Schools are closed, etc. In short, il pleut comme vache qui pisse.

The profundity, however, occurs when the phrase is taken figuratively. Think of the possibilities! I liken the meaning to that of, "It's raining cats and dogs." Both phrases, of course, can refer to the weather conditions. However, they can also mean that trouble just keeps piling on, as in, "When it rains, it pours."

Which, by the way, also reminds me of one of my favorite comic characters, Charlie Brown, who had the proverbial rain cloud constantly over his head because bad things kept happening to him (self-fulfilling prophecy, perhaps? but that's another blog post altogether). To which I would tell Charlie through the magic television box as an 8 year old, "Cheer up, Charlie Brown...it can only pleut comme vache qui pisse for so long."