This French expression stems from old pirate slang and can be used to express approval. C'est le pied, pronounced say luh pee-ay, is a French expression that literally translates as: It's the foot.

No, this expression does not involve weeping cakes. Pleurer comme une madeleine – roughly pronounced pler-ay kohm oon mahd-eh-lenn - translates literally to “cry like a Madeleine” which means to sob ...

This is a preview. Log in through your library . Journal Information A refereed publication, The Modern Language Journal is dedicated to promoting scholarly exchange among teachers and researchers of ...