Poser un lapin















The French expression ‘poser un lapin’ literally translate as "to place a rabbit”.

Where is the link between someone looking at his or her watch and a rabbit? and what does it mean in English? This rather random idiom finds its roots in 1880, meaning, “not rewarding the favours of a girl” or more generally to leave without paying. 

The link to rabbits? It could be that among their other attributes, rabbits tend to be fairly fast creatures escaping any situation when they feel threatened?  

In modern language, “poser un lapin” means "to stand (somebody) up” as in reneging on a commitment. I need to add that the expression is more colloquial than academic!  

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