vivre d'amour et d'eau fraiche

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

French

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Literally, to live on love and fresh water.

Verb

[edit]

vivre d’amour et d’eau fraiche

  1. to live a carefree life with very little material means; to live on bread and kisses
    On ne peut pas vivre d’amour et d’eau fraiche.
    You can't live off love and water alone. (The implication is that you need to work to earn a living.)
    Sommes-nous revenus au temps où l’artiste était tenu de vivre d’amour et d’eau fraîche ? À l’évidence oui !
    Have we returned to the times in which an artist had to live off love and water alone? Apparently so!

Usage notes

[edit]

The expression emphasizes the unsustainability of the lifestyle. It is often used in the negative to chide children.