This French expression stems from old pirate slang and can be used to express approval.
Why do I need to know c’est le pied?
Because it is about more than simply pointing out a foot.
What does it mean?
C’est le pied, pronounced say luh pee-ay, is a French expression that literally translates as: It’s the foot.
But it eventually came to describe things as great, wonderful or super.
The origins of this usage stem back to 19th century French pirate slang.
Back then, pirates who had obtained a stash of booty, by finding buried treasure or raiding another ship, would divide the haul among themselves.
To do this, they would lay the stash along the floor and divide it up using by foot lengths as measure. The expression prendre son pied (take one’s foot) came to mean taking your foot-length share of treasure.
Being pirates, they were obviously happy to get their share of the gold coin and rum. And so prendre son pied morphed into the simpler c’est le pied as a way to talk about things being good.
Prendre son pied is still sometimes used but it has taken on a different meaning: to have an orgasm.
A French company that during the 2022 presidential campaign made socks featuring the various candidates adds a label using c’est le pied:
Parce que c’est le pied de pouvoir librement s’exprimer – Because it is great to be able to express oneself freely.
Bon… Je pense qu’il va falloir que je commence à freiner mon soutien à Melenchon là, parce que voilà maintenant ce que les gens m’envoient par la poste. pic.twitter.com/o6ic60xcEI
— Wissam Xelka (@WXelka) March 22, 2022
Here are some other examples of how to use the expression:
L’équipe de France, c’est le pied – The French team is great
Cette classe, ce n’est pas le pied – This class is not great
J’adore cette photo, c’est le pied – I love this photo, it’s great.
Other foot expressions
Quel pied can be used as a synonym for c’est le pied but it has a double meaning. Quel pied can also be used to call someone an idiot.
But there are plenty of other foot expressions too:
Avoir une épine au pied – To be worried or in an embarrassing situation
Avoir un bon pied – To be in good health
Faire des pieds et des mains – To make an effort
Mettre les pieds dans la vigne du Seigneur – To get drunk
Si vous lui donnez un pied, il en prendra quatre – If you give him an inch, he’ll take a mile
