Poisson d’Avril

…Poisson d’avril !

In case you’ve never heard this term, it means I played a trick on you, in honor of April 1, or, as it’s known to Anglophones, April Fool’s Day.

As you may have noticed, though, for the French, April Fool’s is “April Fish”.

Many French children make paper fish and then go to school and tape them to unsuspecting classmates’ backs. This is described as coller un poisson dans le dos de quelqu’un (literally, “to stick a fish in someone’s back” not on, strangely enough).  It’s one of the few times when French people really let go and get silly.