être à la bourre
to be running late / to be behind schedule
Pronunciation
/ɛtʁ a la buʁ/
Cultural Note
The French are constitutionally late, and they have a perfect expression for it. 'Être à la bourre' is softer than saying 'je suis en retard' (I'm late) — it implies you're in the process of being late rather than definitively late, which somehow makes it more acceptable. The 'bourre' originally referred to stuffing/padding, as in being stuffed/squeezed for time. Every French person texts 'jsuis à la bourre!!!' at least twice a week. It's the unofficial motto of Paris.
📝 Example Sentences
Désolé, je suis à la bourre, j'arrive dans dix minutes !
Sorry, I'm running late, I'll be there in ten minutes!
On est à la bourre sur le projet, faut accélérer.
We're behind schedule on the project, we need to speed up.