À tire-larigot and more tire phrases to use when in France

The verb tirer means to pull in French. There are many words and expressions that use the stem tire, though they have taken on their own unique meanings.

Learning French vocabulary is a key part to gaining fluency, and everyone has a different method of doing so. 

One strategy is to put each new word you learn into a sentence, to help you remember the context of the word and understand more fully the meaning behind it. 

Reading is one of the best ways to integrate new words into your vocabulary. If you have a Kindle, you can download a French dictionary and link it to the book you are reading, meaning each time you come across a new word you can just click on it to get the dictionary definition. 

These tire expressions show how French often builds playful new meanings from simple roots. 

Understanding tirer helps you see the humor and logic that run through the language.

Here are some of the most common phrases to know…

Tire-bouchon - corkscrew

You cannot move to France without having this word in your vocabulary - tire-bouchon is a corkscrew.

This is likely to come in handy often, as most bottles of wine in France are corked rather than screwtop. It literally translates to “pull-cork”. 

As a verb, tire-bouchonner can mean to twist, coil or curl depending on the context. 

Se tirebouchonner can mean to laugh a lot, or double up laughing, literally expressing the idea of folding yourself up in laughter. 

Meanwhile, a more rare example is en tirebouchon, meaning spirals or coiled.

Tirelire - piggy bank 

Originally, a tirelire was a piggy bank, where children save coins. The phrase casser sa tirelire means “to break the piggy bank,” and can also mean "to splurge” or “spend your savings” in a more figurative way.

Interestingly, in slang, tirelire can also mean “face.” So tirer une drôle de tirelire means “to pull a funny face.”

Tire-au-flanc/ tire-au-cul- slacker

These are playful and slightly rude ways to describe someone who’s lazy or avoids work — a “slacker”. Flanc means “side,” and cul means “bottom,” so both describe someone who metaphorically “pulls away” from effort. Note that tire au flanc is more common than tire-au-cul.

As a verb, you can use tirer au flanc to describe someone being lazy. For example, il tire au flanc depuis des semaines (he’s been lazy for weeks). 

Tire-fesses - ski lift / button lift

If you have ever been skiing in France, you might have used one of these! A tire-fesses is a button lift or ski tow — literally, something that “pulls your bum.” It’s an essential word if you are heading to the slopes.

À tire-larigot - non-stop

This is another old fashioned French phrase that means non-stop or endlessly. It is often used with verbs like boire, parler or jouer. For example, boire à tire larigot means to drink a lot, and parler à tire larigot means to talk endlessly. 

The word larigot originally meant a small flute back in the middle ages, so a tire-larigot gives the idea of playing the flute non stop, which is where the idea of continuity comes from. 

The 2009 French film Micmacs à Tire-Larigot could literally be translated as “Non-Stop Shenanigans.”