L’expression française « faire les cent pas » expliquée

What does “faire les cent pas” mean in French?

Faire les cent pas means to pace restlessly up and down, the way you walk a corridor while anxiously waiting for news. Literally “to do the hundred steps,” it captures the impatient, stressed back-and-forth of someone who would rather move than sit and wait. It is the exact gesture French reaches for around hospital waiting rooms, late guests, or exam results — being in motion to make the time pass faster.

You pace les cent pas dans les couloirs de l’hôpital waiting on a relative’s surgery, or because your dinner guests are thirty minutes late. The “hundred” is figurative — nobody counts — it just paints a long, repetitive shuffle. It pairs naturally with attendre and being stressé(e) or impatient(e).