l'avoir dans le cul
What does “l'avoir dans le cul” mean in English?
It means to be screwed or to end up with the worse end of a deal. The literal translation is interesting, but it's all about misfortune in a figurative sense.
Literally “have it in the arse”
You might encounter it in a casual conversation, similar to saying someone got fucked over. It's informal and carries a bit of weight, often used when someone feels wronged.
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Related French words
avoir des couilles
3/5 · VulgarIt means to have courage or nerve. The literal translation refers to having testicles, but it's not about anatomy here.
baiser comme des lapins
3/5 · VulgarThis phrase means to have sex very frequently, drawing a comparison to rabbits known for their high reproductive rates.
casser les couilles
3/5 · VulgarIt means to annoy or bother someone intensely. The literal translation refers to breaking testicles, but it's typically used figuratively.
couilles
3/5 · VulgarThis refers to testicles, but it's also used to mean courage or to describe trouble in certain phrases. It's a casual, bodily term with some versatility.
About this data
Swear Atlas is a source-attested, AI-curated reference — not a native-speaker-certified dictionary. Meanings and the 1–5 Burn Rating are approximate editorial assessments that vary with context, region, tone and speaker. Inclusion of a word does not constitute endorsement of its use.
The literal gloss is a short editorial translation to show word-for-word sense, not an etymological claim.
“Sounds like” is an English-friendly approximation of how the word sounds, not an authoritative pronunciation. Where shown, the romanisation is a conventional Latin-script transliteration of the original spelling.
Term attested via Viddexa SafeText (MIT). Editorial content © Swear Atlas.