The only fly in the ointment

Anita P.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

The only fly in the ointment

I didn’t have a clue what the colloquial for “The only fly in the ointment” was, so I had a wee search online and one suggestion was “Un seul cheval dans la soupe”, which made me laugh so I used that. I know you marked me wrong in favour of “La seule ombre au tableau”, but can the used ?

This question relates to:French writing exercise "Gluten-free living"

Freeform Writing Exercise C1

Asked 5 years ago

CécileKwiziq Native French TeacherCorrect answer

Hi Anita,

Do you mean 'cheveu' rather than 'cheval'?

There are several expressions for 'the only fly in the ointment' including -

Le seul petit hic/ l'ombre au tableau /le seul écueil/accroc restant

and

cheveu dans la soupe ...

Like05 years ago

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

The horse in the soup (le cheval dans la soupe) would be more like the elephant in the room rather than the fly in the ointment.

Like05 years ago

Anita P. asked:

The only fly in the ointment

I didn’t have a clue what the colloquial for “The only fly in the ointment” was, so I had a wee search online and one suggestion was “Un seul cheval dans la soupe”, which made me laugh so I used that. I know you marked me wrong in favour of “La seule ombre au tableau”, but can the used ?

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