This French expression can be used both at the table and in plenty of other scenarios.
Why do I need to know avoir du pain sur la planche?
Because this expression can be used both in the figurative and the literal sense.
What does it mean?
Avoir du pain sur la planche – roughly pronounced ah-vwar due pan sir lah plahn-shuh – is a French expression that can come in handy both at the dinner table and at work.
Translating precisely to ‘to have bread on the cutting board (or plate/ platter)’ in English, this expression means that there is still work left to be done.
The expression first arose in the 19th century, when its meaning was quite different from what it is now. Originally, it meant to ‘have enough money to live on’ - basically meaning that there was no risk of running out of money to buy food and generally live properly.
At the time, poor families needed to prepare enough bread to feed their families for the week, baking everything at once and storing the extra loaves. If there was bread leftover, that meant the future was secure.
Over time, the expression went on to mean ‘having more work in store’, which is how we might use it today.
Use it like this
Nous ne pouvons pas abandonner maintenant parce que nous avons encore du pain sur la planche. – We cannot give up now because we still have work to finish.
J'ai beaucoup de pain sur la planche, je ne pense pas que ce travail soit terminé avant plusieurs mois. – I’ve got a lot of work left to be completed, I don’t think this job will be finished for several months.
