Pas toutes ses frites dans le même sachet

English translation: a few fries short of a happy meal

14:15 Aug 14, 2017
French to English translations [Non-PRO]
Slang
French term or phrase: Pas toutes ses frites dans le même sachet
This is a beautifully colourful, grease-smelling, typically Belgian expression to say that someone's nuts, cuckoo or crazy as a sh*t-house rat.

SENTENCE: Elle a pas toutes ses frites dans le même sachet, celle-là !

CONTEXT: A woman is accusing the protagonist of badmouthing behind her back, but he swears he never did such a thing. At one point, the protagonist tells a neigbor: "Elle a pas toutes ses frites dans le même sachet !" to imply that she's completely bonkers.

I was wondering about a nice, juicy slang phrase to match this one. It doesn't have to be strictly food-related, of course - it can be anything. Thanks in advance
Paolo Dagonnier
Belgium
Local time: 06:08
English translation:a few fries short of a happy meal
Explanation:
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/a few fries short of a H...

many more :
http://www.jmm.org.au/articles/14071.htm
Selected response from:

Verginia Ophof
Belize
Local time: 23:08
Grading comment
Thanks a lot :)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +7One sandwich short of a picnic
liz askew
4 +1a few fries short of a happy meal
Verginia Ophof
3 +1short of a full deck
Marco Solinas
Summary of reference entries provided
among the hundreds of possibilities
writeaway

Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
short of a full deck


Explanation:
This should fit

Marco Solinas
Local time: 22:08
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  writeaway: English is very rich in expressions. This should fit as should a hundred others.
17 mins

agree  Philippe Etienne: And the addition versions: a few bats in the belfry, but it may sound a bit "old"
1 hr

neutral  Tony M: Don't agree with Philippe's sugestion of 'bats in the belfry' (no 'few') — that's very dated now, as is its derivative 'batty'.
2 hrs
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9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +7
One sandwich short of a picnic


Explanation:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/one-sandwich-short-of-a-p...

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Note added at 11 mins (2017-08-14 14:26:32 GMT)
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Also,


Not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

liz askew
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:08
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Philippe Etienne: I've heard the liquid equivalent: one can short of a six-can pack
32 mins

agree  Margaret Morrison
58 mins

agree  Jennifer White: so many possibilities.........
1 hr

agree  writeaway: the sky's the limit on possibilities. http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/one-sandwich-short-of-a-p... Wonder who the target audience is. English speakers (or native English translators?) living in Belgium?
1 hr

agree  Tony M
2 hrs

agree  Rachel Fell
4 hrs

agree  sam@fr-uk
19 hrs
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11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
a few fries short of a happy meal


Explanation:
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/a few fries short of a H...

many more :
http://www.jmm.org.au/articles/14071.htm

Verginia Ophof
Belize
Local time: 23:08
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thanks a lot :)

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard: There are hundreds of possibilities, but I think this is particularly good because it preserves the idea of "frites".
6 mins
  -> Thank you philgoddard !

neutral  writeaway: Happy Meal (it's the name of a product. Caps are important)
16 mins
  -> you are sooo right writeaway !! my battery is not fully charged either :)
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Reference comments


37 mins peer agreement (net): +1
Reference: among the hundreds of possibilities

Reference information:
“You might say he was one taco short of a combination platter.”
— Robin Williams

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Note added at 2 hrs (2017-08-14 16:19:48 GMT)
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Lots more (some have already been suggested):

https://www.webmasterworld.com/forum9/7910.htm

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Note added at 2 hrs (2017-08-14 16:21:07 GMT)
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A few screws short of a hardware store.
A few cards short of a deck.
A few fries short of a Happy Meal.
A few peas short of a casserole.
A few keys short of a keyboard.
A few sandwiches short of a picnic.
https://snowclones.org/2007/10/03/a-few-x-short-of-a-y/

writeaway
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Tony M: Yes, and also 'the lift doesn't go all the way to the top floor' / 'the light's on but there's no-one home' / 'two prawns short of a barbie' (AU)
2 hrs
  -> yup. the sky's the limit.
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