avoir du toupet
Actual meaning: to have a lot of nerve
Literal meaning: to have tuft of hair
Il m’a accusé de mentir. Il a vraiment du toupet!
He accused me of lying. He’s really got a lot of nerve!
ORIGIN OF THIS EXPRESSION
This expression is said to have originated in the 16th Century as a reference to men who were hired by Italian nobles to kill their competitors. The assassins, who did not want to be recognized, would hide their faces with a long tress of hair — un toupet. Hence, to have le toupet came to be an exaggerated way to say someone has the same nerve as these cold-blooded killers.
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