poser un lapin

Word by word

set down · a · rabbit

Idiomatic sense

To stand someone up. A meeting was agreed, often a romantic one, and the person does not come, and does not warn. The rabbit is what got left, in the figure. In the room, it is an empty chair.

It is informal. It blames the person who did not come. Being delayed, and saying so, is a different story.

Examples

1. Il m'a posé un lapin hier soir.

   He stood me up last night.

2. Ne me pose pas un lapin, j'ai réservé une table.

   Don't stand me up. I've booked a table.

Equivalents

Marks say how far the other phrase travels with this one. How to read them.

1. near

   English

   to stand someone up

   The same social failure. English leaves the person standing. French leaves a rabbit. The job matches closely enough that the example translation uses the English idiom.

2. near

   German

   jemanden versetzen

   The dedicated verb. Little picture, same offence.

3. near

   Spanish

   dejar plantado

   To leave someone planted on the spot. Same offence, a botanical picture.

4. partial

   Japanese

   ドタキャンする

   Modern slang, from a last-minute cancel. Broader than a date, and younger in register than poser un lapin.

Notes

The phrase is not about giving someone a rabbit as a gift, and poser here is not the verb of posing for a picture.

No origin is offered. Several circulate, and this book does not pick one.

Sources

• Standard informal idiom. Wording is original.