If you take public transport, at some point you’ve seen a tired passenger trying to fight off sleep while commuting home.
His head drops, he wakes back up, his heads drops again, he wakes back up…
This little passenger below gives a good demonstration!
In French, un clou is a nail, and banging in nails is cogner des clous.
OK, but what’s that got to do with sleepy passengers?
Think of the motion made by the head of someone who’s trying to fight off sleep. Up, down, up, down… It’s like the head is a hammer, banging in nails.
That’s why that little guy in the video above and those sleepy passengers on the métro are all doing what’s referred to in Québec as cogner des clous!
They’re not literally banging in nails like the expression cogner des clous suggests. Instead, they’re fighting off sleep.
cogner des clous au volant
cogner des clous en conduisant
to nod off at the wheel, while driving
cogner des clous au travail
to nod off to sleep at work
Il cognait des clous devant la télé.
He started falling asleep in front of the TV.
Chaque fois quand je lis vos billets, je les essaie avec mon chum et je remarque aussi ces expressions plus souvent dans la vie quotidienne.