Literal Translation
The carrots are cooked
Actual Meaning
It’s hopeless, finished
Etymology
We like our hopeless vegetables (c.f. 24/09/2025)!
In the 17th century, carrots were a cheap vegetable, often referred to as ‘poor people’s food’ that was eaten in times of scarcity or lack of food. In fact, the expression ‘living on carrots alone’ was used to describe a life of poverty.
People who were very poor ate only carrots cooked with meat. Apparently, ‘cooked carrots’ were associated with death, as meat comes from dead animals. Later, this notion of death gave rise to the expression ‘les carottes sont cuites’ (the carrots are cooked), which means that everything is over and there is no hope left.
Another anecdote: according to some sources, the expression was also used as a code during the Second World War: ‘Les carottes sont cuites’ was a coded language that triggered resistance operations via radio broadcasts from London.