This French expression has a long history and comes from the city of Limoges, in southwestern France.
Why do I need to know se faire limoger?
The city of Limoges is known for its porcelain but it’s also the origin of the expression “se faire limoger“, which is commonly used in French media.
What does it mean?
The French expression se faire limoger, roughly pronounced suh fehr lee-mo-zhay (listen here) means “to get fired” or “to be dismissed from a job”, often suddenly or harshly.
The expression is a bit informal and used especially in the media.
So what does this expression have to do with the French city?
On August 3rd, 1914, Germany declared war on France, marking the beginning of World War I. A few weeks later, the French army was struggling, and Paris was within reach of German troops.
The War Ministry, and General Joffre (commander in chief of French forces at the time) in particular, made the radical decision to send part of the general staff – deemed responsible for this disaster – into early retirement. It was decided that they would head to Limoges.
That was all it took for the town in Haute-Vienne to give its name to an expression synonymous with a harsh and final dismissal.
Even today, the people of Limoges are not keen on the use of this expression, which gives the city a bad reputation.
Manual widget for ML (class=”ml-manual-widget-container”)
Use it like this
Il s’est fait limoger sans avertissement. – He was let go without warning.
Le directeur s’est fait limoger après le scandale. – The director was fired after the scandal.
Donald Trump a fini par limoger sa ministre de l’intérieur Kristi Noem (Le Parisien) – Donald Trump ended up firing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
