One of my friends, who was born and raised in France, shared a popular saying that she has heard and used throughout her childhood. In French, it is “Poser un lapin” which translates to “To drop a bunny”. According to the subject, this is a casual expression which is a metaphor for standing someone up. A contextual example would be if a person invited someone for coffee, and that person agreed to come but never showed up. A person who invited then could say that their friends “dropped a bunny on me”. According to the subject, the bunny being a subject of this saying is because he is a metaphor for “hopping away from the plans”. So, bunny’s natural tendencies of movement are compared here with the action of “skipping” plans or standing someone up.

I found this saying very interesting, as I couldn’t have guessed right away what it meant. It is important to note, how the phrase was created in order to express a certain action and allow for the feeling of disdain towards the universal experience of being stood up. Upon further analysis of the movement of the bunny being compare to the human action, one can see a similarity between the animal’s quick and unpredictable movements that reflect the people who deviate from the plans. It is also interesting how the saying can be perceived as humorous and lighthearted. This tone contrasts the uncomfortable feeling of being stood up, but in the way, acts as a tension diffuser that softens negative situations and helps people not taking the unfortunate situation too seriously or being too harsh on another person.