Comprendre l’expression française « être au taquet »
A2 French luyện nghe · Tiếng Pháp Pháp · Phù hợp với người mới bắt đầu
What does “être au taquet” mean in French?
When a French speaker says they’re “au taquet,” they mean they’re going full throttle — bursting with energy and pushing right up against their limit. It works for the gym-and-cookies kind of morning high and for nailing a job interview alike. It’s casual, upbeat and extremely common in spoken French, the rough equivalent of “flat out” or “maxed out” in English.
A taquet is a wedge or cleat — the little block of wood or the deck fitting that jams something in place. The nautical image is a sail hauled in “au taquet,” tensioned to the very last notch for maximum speed. From “stretched to the limit” it slid into today’s sense of being pumped and running at full power: “Ce matin je suis au taquet, j’ai déjà couru deux heures.”