Here’s an expression used in Québec that I think you’ll like to learn:
avoir encore des croûtes à manger
or just
avoir des croûtes à manger
In the examples below from different newspapers online, can you guess what it means to still have to eat the crusts?
This is the title of an article about unreliable internet connections in a certain region of Québec:
La situation s’améliore, mais «on a encore des croûtes à manger»
A journalist has this to say about tennis player Eugenie Bouchard:
(…) Eugenie a encore des croûtes à manger avant de s’élever au même rang que Sharapova (…).
Le Journal de Montréal, 26 janv. 2015
A journalist compares the liveability of Montréal’s public spaces to those of Vienna. The title of his article tells us his verdict:
Montréal a encore des croûtes à manger…
Finally, Guy Laliberté has this to say about Québec:
«Le Québec a des croûtes à manger s’il veut avancer.»
If you still gotta eat the crusts, you’ve got your work cut out!
La situation s’améliore, mais «on a encore des croûtes à manger»
The situation’s improving, but there’s still a long way to go.
(…) Eugenie a encore des croûtes à manger avant de s’élever au même rang que Sharapova (…).
Eugenie still has a long way to go before rising to the same level as Sharapova.
Montréal a encore des croûtes à manger…
Montréal’s still got a long way to go…
Montréal’s still got its work cut out…
«Le Québec a des croûtes à manger s’il veut avancer.»
“Québec’s got its work cut out if it wants to advance.”
avoir (encore) des croûtes à manger
to (still) have a long way to go
to (still) have one’s work cut out
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