French Expression With Three Apples

The French expression haut comme trois pommes (pronounced [o  kuhm  trwa  puhm]) literally means high like three apples. It is used the same way as the English expression knee-high to a grasshopper and is used to  describe someone  very  young or  short. It has an informal  register. Haut  Comme  Trois  Pommes  and Smurfs Youre probably familiar with the Smurfs, comic book characters introduced in Le Journal de Spirou in 1958, by the Belgian artist Peyo. Known as Schtroumpfs in French, Smurfs were exported to the US in the 80s in the form of popular cartoons and figurines. One thing you might remember about Smurfs (other than that they were blue), was that they were described as three apples tall. Peyo obviously said that they were hauts comme trois pommes, and the literal translation was used in the American adaptation to describe their height. The idiomatic English equivalent, however, can only be used figuratively: knee-high to a grasshopper cant literally describe a persons height, but rather means (when I was) a young child. Examples and Variations   Ã‚  Ã‚  La dernià ¨re fois que je lai vu, jà ©tais haut  comme  trois pommes.The last time I saw him, I was knee-high to a grasshopper.   Ã‚  Le pà ¨re de Sandrine a dà ©mà ©nagà © à   Paris quand elle à ©tait haute comme trois pommes.Sandrines father moved to Paris when she was knee-high to a grasshopper. You may see the following variations: Grand comme trois pommes à   genouxHaut comme trois pommes à   genouxHaut comme trois pommes couchà ©esï » ¿Haut comme deux pommes (expression quà ©bà ©coise)