the signs as french expressions
Aries: Après moi, le deluge - “after me, the flood”, something thought to have been said to Louis XV by his mistress Madame de Pompadour, implying an indifference to what (damage) happens after you are gone, a disregard for the consequences of your life.
Taurus: Plus ca change… (plus c'est la même chose) - “the more things change, the more they remain the same”, a way to express disillusion or defeat in regards to how things always stay the same at their core, even though things change.
Gemini: Savoir-faire - “know (what to) do”, the quality of being capable to handle any situation with grace, having mastered adaptability and ingenuity.
Cancer: Enfant terrible - “unruly child”, refers to someone (often a child or one of childish spirit) who, by being overly candid and untimely in behavior, embarrasses and shocks their surroundings.
Leo: Roi fainéant - “do-nothing king”, an expression for a king with no (real) power, a play-king left to his riches, vanities and dissipations.
Virgo: Le mot juste - “the exact word”, coined by Flaubert, searching for le mot juste is the tireless and hopeless effort in finding the perfect word to describe something, to fix the unfixable.
Libra: Cherchez la femme - “look for/seek the woman”, a presumption that if a man is acting strangely, out of character, or inexplicably—there’s always a woman lying behind it.
Scorpio: L’appel du vide - “the call of the void”, being plagued by intrusive thoughts of destructive nature, feeling momentarily drawn to demise.
Sagittarius: Esprit d’escalier - “staircase wit”, the frustrating phenomenon of coming up with the perfect observation or comeback after the opportunity to use it has passed.
Capricorn: Nostalgie de la boue - “mud nostalgia”, a desire or yearning for what is depraved, degrading or crude.
Aquarius: Poète maudit - “doomed poet”, used to describe the fate of the great poet, who is doomed to obscurity and to live as an outcast to, or against the world.
Pisces: Flâneur - “stroller”, a leisurely wanderer of city streets, an aesthete and observer of life.
