Cool bananas
I came across a very cool French slang phrase: J'ai la banane means 'I am very happy' but literally translates as 'I have the banana'!
Editor's note: See some more Cool French phrases.
Sent by: Stephanie
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If you say "j'ai la patate" you're in good health, feeling great! (You have the potato)
Never heard J'ai la banane. I left France 18 years ago. It must be a recent one. The smiley face shape is a good explanation, yet there was a rumour that directives from Brussels wanted to ban curled bananas and encourage producers to only grow straight ones! In the UK the croissants sold in supermarkets are often straight. Not easy explaining to students that croissant means crescent ...
Meaning that you have a big smile, making your mouth look like a banana.
Meaning that you are very happy you can say also jai la pêche. Literally as I have the peach. This expression is more for energic behaviour.
I was once at a McDonald's in Paris, scouring the menu board for the price of "chocolat chaud" and finding none. Who every heard of McD's without hot cocoa? So I ordered "chocolat chaud" and was served a cup of hot milk and a sachet of instant cocoa on the side, called "Banania". I checked the menu again: yep, "Banania", it was there after all. It still amuses me, asking for cocoa and getting a banana.
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