Hi! Thanks for joining me for this new episode of the Authentic French podcast. Today, we're going to study an expression together. I like this expression, it's nice. It's about "mixing your brushes". You may have already heard this expression "mixing your brushes". You're going to understand exactly what this expression means today and we're going to give you examples, we're going to explain the meaning of the expression, the words that make it up, and of course, we're going to give you synonyms.
If you want to go a little bit further, you can also download the free PDF sheet that we are preparing for you to summarize the content of this episode. You will find the explanation of the words, the meaning of the expression, the examples etc. You can download this PDF sheet now. It is the link that is in the description of the episode.
So, what does it mean to get mixed up? The verb "to mix" means to mix things, to put them together, to put things together. It can mean to combine them. You take two things, you india whatsapp number data combine them, you incorporate them with each other to form a whole. You put them together to make things become one, become a whole, become a whole. It can also mean to mess things up.
It can unfortunately be a little counterintuitive, but mixing can mean putting together. If for example, I mix colors to paint, I take two colors, I mix them, it means I put them together, I mix them, I combine them, I put them together. But the second meaning can be putting in disorder. If for example, I have classified papers on my desk, there I have the papers, I classified them on my desk, and the children put all the papers on the floor. I say: "Oh no, the sheets are mixed", it means that they are in disorder. You have two almost contradictory ideas for the same verb. The French language is crazy. But these are the two meanings of the verb "to mix".
The word "brush" corresponds to or allows to define an object. Often, this object is made with a set of animal hairs or plant fibers. It can also be artificial of course, but it can be fiber or animal hairs that are fixed to the end of a handle and that are often used to paint. It can be used to glue, to varnish too, but it is most often used to paint, the brush. We paint with a brush.
It's funny because they say that the expression "se mélange les pinceaux" has nothing to do with painting. You might think that "mixing brushes" or "se mélange les pinceaux" has a connection with painting, it doesn't. The reason there is no connection is that the brushes, here, they refer to the feet or the legs. That's what we call or what we can imagine by the brushes. So to mix brushes is a way of saying that we get our legs tangled, that we are out of balance. That's the origin of the expression.