WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR
JULES SANDEAU. La Roche aux Mouettes (Extracts). [Nutt’s Short French Readers, 6d.]
THÉOPHILE GAUTIER. Voyage en Italie. [Cambridge University Press, 3s.]
ÉMILE SOUVESTRE. Le Philosophe sous les toits (Extracts). [Blackie’s Little French Classics, 4d.]
PIERRE CŒUR. L’Âme de Beethoven. [Siepmann’s French Series. Macmillan, 2s.]
FRENCH IDIOMS AND PROVERBS
“Omne epigramma sit instar apis; sit aculeus illi,
Sint sua mella, sit et corporis exigui.” Martial.
[Thus Englished by Archbishop Trench:
“Three things must epigrams, like bees, have all;
Its sting, its honey, and its body small.”]
[And thus by my friend, Mr. F. Storr:
“An epigram’s a bee: ’tis small, has wings
Of wit, a heavy bag of humour, and it stings.”]
“Celebre dictum, scita quapiam novitate insigne.” Erasmus.
“The genius, wit, and spirit of a nation are discovered in its proverbs.”—Bacon.
“The people’s voice the voice of God we call;
And what are proverbs but the people’s voice?” James Howell.
“What oft was thought, but ne’er so well expressed.” Pope, Essay on Criticism.
“The wit of one man, the wisdom of many.”—Lord John Russell (Quarterly Review, Sept. 1850).
FRENCH IDIOMS AND PROVERBS
A COMPANION TO DESHUMBERT’S
“DICTIONARY OF DIFFICULTIES”
BY
DE V. PAYEN-PAYNE
PRINCIPAL OF KENSINGTON COACHING COLLEGE
ASSISTANT EXAMINER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
FOURTH REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION
[Fifth Thousand]
LONDON
DAVID NUTT, 57-59 LONG ACRE
1905
“Tant ayme on chien qu’on le nourrist,
Tant court chanson qu’elle est aprise,
Tant garde on fruit qu’il se pourrist,
Tant bat on place qu’elle est prise.
Tant tarde on que faut entreprise,
Tant se haste on que mal advient,
Tant embrasse on que chet la prise,
Tant crie l’on Noel qu’il vient.”
Villon, Ballade des Proverbes.
PREFACE
In this edition I have endeavoured to keep down additions as much as possible, so as not to overload the book; but I have not been sparing in adding cross-references (especially in the Index) and quotations from standard authors. These quotations seldom give the first occasion on which a proverb has been used, as in most cases it is impossible to find it.
I have placed an asterisk before all recognised proverbs; these will serve as a first course for those students who do not wish to read through the whole book at once. In a few cases I have added explanations of English proverbs; during the eleven years I have been using the book I have frequently found that pupils were, for instance, as ignorant of “to bell the cat” as they were of “attacher le grelot.”
I must add a warning to students who use the book when translating into French. They must not use expressions marked “familiar” or “popular” except when writing in a familiar or low-class style. I have included these forms, because they are often heard in conversation, but they are seldom met with in serious French literature. A few blank pages have been added at the end for additions. Accents have been placed on capitals to aid the student; they are usually omitted in French printing.
In conclusion, I have to thank Mr. W. G. Lipscomb, M.A., Headmaster of Bolton Grammar School, Mr. E. Latham, and especially M. Georges Jamin of the École Lavoisier, Paris, for valuable suggestions; while M. Marius Deshumbert, and Professor Walter Rippmann, in reading through the proof sheets, have made many corrections and additions of the greatest value, for which I owe them my sincere gratitude.
DE V. PAYEN-PAYNE.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED
Belcher, H., and Dupuis, A., “Manuel aux examens.” London, 1885.
Belcour, G., “English Proverbs.” London, 1888.
Bohn, H. G., “Handbook of Proverbs.” London, 1855.
Cats, Jacob, and Fairlie, R., “Moral Emblems.” London, 1860.
Duplessis, M. Gratet, “La fleur des Proverbes français.” Paris, 1851.
Furetière, A., “Dictionnaire universel.” La Haye, 1727.
Génin, F., “Récréations philologiques.” Paris, 1856.
Howell, James, “Lexicon Tetraglotton.” London, 1660.
Karcher, T., “Questionnaire français.” Seventh Edition. London, 1886.
Lacurne de Ste. Palaye, “Dictionnaire historique de l’ancien langage françois.” Paris, 1875-82.
Larchey, Lorédan, “Nos vieux Proverbes.” Paris, 1886.
Larousse, P., “Grand Dictionnaire universel du xixe siècle.” 1865-76.
Le Roux de Lincy, A. J., “Livre des Proverbes français.” 2e édition. Paris, 1859.
Littré, E., “Dictionnaire de la langue française.” Paris, 1863-72.
Loubens, D., “Proverbes de la langue française.” Paris, 1889.
Martin, Éman, “Le Courrier de Vaugelas.” Paris, 1868.
Quitard, P. M., “Dictionnaire étymologique des Proverbes.” Paris, 1842.
Quitard, P. M., “Études sur les Proverbes français.” Paris, 1860.
Rigaud, Lucien, “Argot moderne.” Paris, 1881.
Tarver, J. C., “Phraseological Dictionary.” London, 1854.
Trench, R. C., “Proverbs and their Lessons.” Sixth Edition. London, 1869.
Quarterly Review. July 1868.
Notes and Queries. Passim.
FRENCH IDIOMS AND PROVERBS
Expressions to which an Asterisk is prefixed are Proverbs.
A.
A
Il ne sait ni A ni B = He does not know B from a bull’s foot; He cannot read; He is a perfect ignoramus.
Être marqué à l’A = To stand high in the estimation of others.
[This expression is supposed to have originated in the custom of stamping French coin with different letters of the alphabet. The mark of the Paris Mint was an “A,” and its coins were supposed to be of a better quality than those stamped at provincial towns. But as this custom only began in 1418 by command of the Dauphin, son of Charles VI., and as the saying was known long previous, it is more probable that its origin is to be sought in the pre-eminence that A has always held in all Aryan languages, and that the French have borrowed it from the Romans. Compare Martial, ii. 57, and our A i, at Lloyd’s.]
Abandon
Tout est à l’abandon = Everything is at sixes and sevens, in utter neglect, in confusion.
[Also: Tout va à la dérive.]
Abattre
*Petite pluie abat grand vent = A little rain lays much dust; Often quite a trifle calms a torrent of wrath.
[Compare: “Hi motus animorum atque haec certamina tanta
Pulveris exigui jactu compressa quiescunt.” Vergil, Georgics, iv. 86-7.]
Abattre de l’ouvrage = To get through a great deal of work.
Aboi
Être aux abois = To be reduced to the last extremity; To be at bay.
[Compare Boileau: “Dès que j’y veux rêver, ma veine est aux abois.”]
Abondance
*Abondance de biens ne nuit pas = Store is no sore; One cannot have too much of a good thing.
Parler avec abondance = To speak fluently.
Parler d’abondance = To speak extempore.
Abonder
Il abonde dans mon sens = He is entirely of the same opinion as I am; He has come round to my opinion.
Abord
Il a l’abord rude, mais il s’adoucit bientôt = He receives you roughly at first, but that soon passes off.
A (or, De) prime abord = At first sight; At the first blush.
Aboutir
Les pourparlers n’ont pas abouti = The preliminary negotiations led to nothing.
Absent
*“Les absents ont toujours tort” = When absent, one is never in the right.
“When a man’s away,
Abuse him you may.”
[Néricault-Destouches, L’obstacle imprévu, i. 6.]
Absurde
L’homme absurde est celui qui ne change jamais = The wise man changes his opinion—the fool never.
[Barthélemy, Palinode. 1832.]
Accommodement
Il est avec le ciel des accommodements = One can arrange things with heaven.
[Compare Molière, Tartufe, iv. 5: “Le ciel défend, de vrai, certains contentements,
Mais on trouve avec lui des accommodements.”
The scene in which Orgon, hidden beneath the table, learns Tartufe’s hypocrisy.]
Un méchant accommodement est mieux que le meilleur procès = A bad arrangement is better than the best lawsuit.
Accommoder
Je l’accommoderai comme il faut = I will give him a good hiding.
Il s’accommode de tout = He is satisfied with everything; He is easy to please.
Accord
D’accord = Granted.
Accorder
Accordez mieux vos flûtes, si vous voulez réussir = You must agree better among yourselves if you wish to succeed.
[Generally in bad sense. “Mettez, pour me jouer, vos flûtes mieux d’accord.”—Molière, L’Etourdi, i. 4.]
S’accorder comme chien et chat = To live a cat and dog life.
Accoutumer
Chose accoutumée n’est pas fort prisée = Familiarity breeds contempt.
[The Latin version of a sentence in Plutarch’s Morals runs: “Nimia familiaritas contemptum parit.”
Fais feste au chien, il te gastera ton habit.
“Jamais trop compagnon à nul ne te feras
Car bien que moins de joye moins d’ennuy tu auras.”]
Un homme qui se noie s’accroche à tout = A drowning man catches at a straw.
Il a accroché sa montre (pop.) = He has “popped” his watch.
[Other popular synonyms are the following:—
Il a mis sa montre au clou (pop.) = His watch is up the spout.
J’ai porté ma montre chez ma tante (pop.) = My watch is at my uncle’s.]
Acheter
Acheter à vil prix = To buy dirt cheap, for a mere song.
Acheter chat en poche = To buy a pig in a poke.
Acheter par francs et vendre par écus = To buy in the cheapest market and sell in the dearest; To sell at a high profit.
Achever
C’est un voleur achevé = He is an arrant thief.
Achoppement
La pierre d’achoppement = The stumbling-block.
Acquérir
*Le bien mal acquis ne profite jamais = Ill-gotten gains benefit no one; Cheats never prosper; Ill got, ill spent.
Acquit
Faire quelque chose par manière d’acquit = To do something for form’s sake, perfunctorily.
[This is a shortened form of faire quelque chose pour l’acquit de sa conscience = to do something to satisfy one’s conscience.]
Donner l’acquit = To break (at billiards).
Pour acquit = Received (on bills).
Acte
Faire acte de présence = To put in an appearance.
Adieu
Sans adieu = I shall not say good-bye; I shall see you again soon.
[“Adieu” is shortened from “Je vous recommande à la grâce de Dieu.” Comp. “Sans adieu, chevalier, je crois que nous nous reverrons bientôt.”—Lesage.]
Adresse
Le trait est arrivé à son adresse = The shaft (or, arrow) hit the mark; He took the hint.
Adresser
Vous vous adressez mal; Vous vous adressez bien (ironic.) = You have come to the wrong person; You have mistaken your man.
Advenir
*Advienne que pourra = Happen what may.
Cela fera parfaitement l’affaire = That will do capitally; That will suit down to the ground.
C’est son affaire = That is his business, his look-out.
Ça, c’est mon affaire = That is my business; It is no business of yours.
Il est sûr de son affaire = He will pay for it; He will catch it.
Je ne dis pas mes affaires aux autres = I do not tell others my plans (or business); I keep my concerns to myself.
J’entends votre affaire = I see what is to be done for you.
Ils parlent affaires = They are talking business.
Ils parlent boutique = They are talking shop.
C’est une triste affaire = It is a sad business.
S’attirer une mauvaise affaire = To get into a mess, scrape.
Quand on a de l’esprit, on se tire d’affaire = When one has brains, one gets out of any difficulty.
[Distinguish between se tirer and s’attirer.]
Si quelque affaire t’importe, ne la fais pas par procureur = If you want a thing done, do it yourself.
L’affaire a été chaude = It was warm work (referring to a fight).
Une affaire d’honneur = A duel.
Où sont mes affaires? = Where are my things?
Les affaires ne vont pas (ne marchent pas) = Trade is dull, slack.
Je suis dans les affaires = I am in business.
[“Les affaires? C’est bien simple, c’est l’argent des autres.”—Alex. Dumas fils, La Question d’Argent, ii. 7.]
Mêlez-vous de vos affaires = Mind your own business.
Avoir affaire = To be occupied.
Avoir affaire à quelqu’un = To have to speak to (to deal with) a person.
[Sometimes as a threat:
Il aura affaire à moi = He will have to deal with me.]
Avoir affaire de quelqu’un = To need a person.
[“J’ai affaire de vous, ne vous éloignez pas.”]
Avoir son affaire = To have what suits one. J’ai mon affaire = I have found what I want. J’ai votre affaire = I have got the very thing for you. Il aura son affaire (ironic.) = He will catch it.
C’est toute une affaire = It is a serious matter; It means a lot of bother (or, trouble).
C’est une affaire faite = It is as good as done.
Son affaire est faite = He is a dead man (of one dying); He is done for; He is a ruined man.
Faire son affaire = (of oneself) To succeed. Il fait tout doucement son affaire = He is getting on slowly but surely.
(Of others) To punish. S’il le rencontre, il lui fera son affaire = If he meets him he will give it to him, will “do” for him.
Il a fait ses affaires dans les vins = He made his money in the wine trade.
J’en fais mon affaire = I will take the responsibility of the matter; I will see to it; I will take it in hand.
Vous avez fait là une belle affaire (ironic.) = You have made a pretty mess of it.
Une affaire de rien = A mere nothing, a trifle.
Il est hors d’affaire = He is out of danger.
Être au dessous de ses affaires, être au dessus de ses affaires (ironic.) = To be unable to meet one’s liabilities, to be unsuccessful.
Quelle affaire! En voilà une affaire! (ironic.) = What a to-do! What a row about nothing!
La belle affaire! = Is that all? (i.e. it is not so difficult or important as you seem to think).
Il n’y a point de petites affaires = Every trifle is of importance.
Ceux qui n’ont point d’affaires s’en font = Those who have no troubles invent them; Idle people make business for themselves.
Les affaires sont les affaires = Business is business; One must be serious at work.
Ce scandale sera l’affaire de huit jours = That scandal will be a nine days’ wonder.
Dieu nous garde d’un homme qui n’a qu’une affaire = God save us from the man of one idea.
[Because he is always talking of it, and tires every one. Compare “Beware of the man of one book.”]
Chacun sait ses affaires = Every one knows his own business best.
*A demain les affaires sérieuses = I will not be bothered with business to-day; Time enough for business to-morrow.
[The saying of Archias, governor of Thebes, on receiving a letter from Athens warning him of the conspiracy of Pelopidas; he would not even open the letter. Soon after, the conspirators rushed in and murdered him and his friends as they were feasting.]
Il vaut mieux avoir affaire à Dieu qu’à ses saints = It is better to deal with superiors than subordinates.
[Two quotations from La Fontaine are proverbial:— “On ne s’attendait guère
A voir Ulysse en cette affaire.”
La Tortue et les deux Canards.
“Le moindre grain de mil
Serait bien mieux mon affaire.”
Le Coq et la Perle.]
Affamer
*Ventre affamé n’a point d’oreilles = A hungry man will not listen to reason.
[La Fontaine, Fables, ix. 18.]
Afficher
Défense d’afficher = Stick no bills.
C’est un homme qui s’affiche = He is a man who tries to get talked about (generally in a disparaging sense).
[Être affiché is also said of a man who has been “posted” at his club.]
Affront
Faire affront à quelqu’un = To shame some one in public.
Le fils fait affront à sa famille = The son is a disgrace to his family.
Boire (essuyer or avaler) un affront = To pocket an insult.
Être à l’affût = To be watching for a favourable opportunity; To be on the look-out. (See [Aguets].)
Âge
Il est entre deux âges = He is middle-aged.
Il est président d’âge = He is chairman by seniority.
Le bas âge = Infancy.
Le bel âge = Childhood; youth.
[Some idea is generally understood after le bel âge. Thus “childhood” is not always the right translation. For an author le bel âge would be after thirty, for a politician later still, and so on. Chicaneau, in Racine’s Plaideurs, calls sixty le bel âge pour plaider (i. 7).]
La fleur de l’âge = The prime of life.
Le moyen âge = The Middle Ages.
Agir
Il s’agit de... = The question is...; The point is...
Il s’agit de votre vie = Your life is at stake.
Il ne s’agit pas de cela = That is not the point.
Il s’agit bien de cela (ironic.) = That is quite a secondary consideration.
Agiter
Qui s’agite s’enrichit = If you wish to get rich, you must work (hustle); No pains, no gains.
Agonie
Même à travers l’agonie la passion dominante se fait voir = The ruling passion is strong in death.
[“Elle a porté ses sentiments jusqu’à l’agonie.”—Bossuet. “And you, brave Cobham! to the latest breath
Shall feel your ruling passion strong in death.”
Pope, Moral Essays, i. 262.]
Il est aux aguets = He is on the watch; He is in ambush. (See [Affût].)
Aide
*Un peu d’aide fait grand bien = Many hands make light work.
Aider
Bon droit a besoin d’aide = Even a good cause needs support.
*Aide-toi, le ciel t’aidera = God helps those who help themselves.
[La Fontaine, Fables, vi. 18, Le Chartier embourbé, copying Régnier, Sat. xiii.:
“Aydez vous seulement et Dieu vous aydera.”
Lat.: Dii facientes adjuvant.
Æschylus, Persae, 742: Σπεύδοντι σαυτῷ χῶ θεὸς ξυνάψεται.
Sophocles, Camicii, frag. 633, in Dindorf’s edition: Οὐκ ἐστι τοῖς μή δρῶσι σύμμαχος Τύχη.
Another Greek saying was: Σύν, Αθηνᾷ καὶ χείρα κίνει = With Minerva on your side, yet use your own hand.
Cromwell is reported to have said at the battle of Dunbar: “Trust in God, but keep your powder dry.”
The Basques say: “Quoique Dieu soit bon ouvrier, il veut qu’on l’aide.”]
Aiguille
De fil en aiguille = Bit by bit; One thing leading to another.
[“De propos en propos et de fil en eguille.”—Régnier, Sat. xiii.]
Raconter de fil en aiguille = To tell the whole matter from the beginning.
Disputer sur la pointe d’une aiguille = To raise a discussion on a subject of no importance; To split hairs.
*Chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin = To look for a needle in a bundle (bottle) of hay.
Aiguillon
A dur âne dur aiguillon = In dealing with obstinate natures one must use severe measures.
Aile
Il en a dans l’aile = He is winged (hurt).
Le ministère a du plomb dans l’aile = The ministry is nearing its end, is winged.
Il ne bat plus que d’une aile = He is almost ruined; He is on his last legs.
Voler de ses propres ailes = To act (or, shift) for oneself.
J’en tirerai pied ou aile = I will get something out of it.
[Idiom derived from carving a bird—to get a leg or a wing off it.]
C’est la plus belle plume de son aile (or, le plus beau fleuron de sa couronne) = It is the finest gem of his crown.
*Qui aime bien châtie bien = Spare the rod and spoil the child.
[Proverbs xiii. 24.]
Aimer quelqu’un comme la prunelle de ses yeux = To love somebody like the apple of one’s eye.
Quand on n’a pas ce que l’on aime il faut aimer ce que l’on a = If you cannot get crumb you had best eat crust.
[This sentence is found in a letter from Bussy Rabutin to Madame de Sévigné, May 23, 1667.
“Quoniam non potest id fieri quod vis, id velis quod possit.”—Terence, Andria, ii. 1, 6. “When things will not suit our will, it is well to suit our will to things.”—Arab proverb. “Let not what I cannot have
My peace of mind destroy.”
Colley Cibber, The Blind Boy.]
*Qui aime Bertrand, aime son chien = Love me, love my dog.
[“Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.”—S. Bernard, In Fest. S. Mich. Serm., i. sec. 3.]
*Qui aime bien, tard oublie = True love dies hard.
Qui m’aime me suive = Peril proves who dearly loves.
[Words attributed to Philippe VI. when at a Council during his war with Flanders, the Connétable de Châtillon alone stood by him, saying all times were suitable to the brave.]
Air
En plein air; Au grand air = In the open air.
|
Être entre deux airs Être dans un courant d’air |
} |
= To be in a draught. |
Avoir toujours le pied en l’air = To be always on the go.
Il parle en l’air = He talks without thinking of what he is saying, at random, not seriously.
Je vais prendre l’air du bureau = I am just going to look in at the office.
Prendre un air de feu = To go near the fire for a few minutes to warm oneself.
A votre air on ne vous donnerait pas vingt-cinq ans = From your looks I should take you for less than five-and-twenty.
Vivre de l’air du temps = To live upon nothing (i.e. to eat very little).
Elle a quelque chose de votre air = She takes after you; She looks somewhat like you.
Il a un faux air d’avocat = He looks something like a barrister.
Cela en a tout l’air = It looks uncommonly like it.
Il a un air (or, l’air) comme il faut = He has a very gentlemanly manner.
Algèbre
C’est de l’algèbre pour lui = It is Greek to him.
[“C’est de l’hébreu pour moi.”—Molière, L’Étourdi, iii. 3.]
Allemand
Chercher une querelle d’Allemand = To pick a quarrel about nothing, without rhyme or reason.
[This saying has been accounted for as follows:—During the thirteenth century there lived in Dauphiné a very powerful family of the name of Alleman. They were bound together by close ties of relationship; and if any one attacked one member of the clan, he had the whole to reckon with. From the vigour with which they resented any wrong, no matter how slight, arose the expression Une querelle d’Alleman. See M. Jules Quicherat’s article on La famille des Alleman in the Revue historique de la noblesse, Part vi.]
*Tant va la cruche à l’eau qu’à la fin elle se casse = The pitcher that often goes to the well gets broken at last.
[This has been travestied: Tant va la cruche à l’eau qu’à la fin elle s’emplit. The Germans have an equivalent: Der Krug geht so lange zum Brunnen, bis er bricht.]
*Doucement va bien loin = Fair and softly goes far; Slow and sure wins the race.
[The Italian equivalent is: Chi va piano va sano e va lontano. “Qui trop se hâte en cheminant
En beau chemin se fourvoye souvent.”
“On en va mieux quand on va doux.”—La Fontaine, Les Cordeliers de Catalogne.]
Il y allait du bonheur de ma famille = The happiness of my family was at stake.
Ce jeune homme ira loin = That young man will make his way in the world, has a future before him.
Au pis aller = Should the worst come to the worst.
Un pis aller = A makeshift.
Aller son petit bonhomme de chemin = To jog along quietly.
Cela va tout seul = There is no difficulty in the way.
Cela va sans dire = That is a matter of course; It stands to reason.
Cela va de soi = That follows naturally.
Il ne reviendra pas, allez! = Depend upon it, he will not return!
Va pour mille francs! = Done! I’ll take £40.
| Aller cahin-caha Aller clopin-clopant | } | (lit.) To limp along. (fig.) To rub along |
| quietly, neither very well nor very ill. | ||
Elle le fait aller = She makes him do what she likes.
Le rouge va bien aux brunes = Red suits dark women well.
Allons! = Come, now!
Allons donc! = You are joking.
Allumer
“Il n’est bois si vert qui ne s’allume” (Clément Marot) = There is nothing so difficult that cannot be done in time.
Alors
Alors comme alors = Wait till that happens, and then we will see what is to be done.
Ambre
Fin comme l’ambre = As sharp as a needle.
[This is said to have originated in the scent of ambergris, which is of a subtle, penetrating nature.]
Amener
Cette preuve est amenée de bien loin = That proof is very far-fetched.
*Qui prête à l’ami perd au double = “For loan oft loses both itself and friend.”
[Hamlet, i. 3.]
*On connaît les amis au besoin = A friend in need is a friend indeed.
[Also: C’est dans le malheur qu’on connaît ses amis. “Chacun se dit ami, mais fou qui s’y repose
Rien n’est plus commun que le nom
Rien n’est plus rare que la chose.”
La Fontaine, Fables, iv. 17.
“Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur.”—Ennius.
“Nihil homini amico est opportuno amicius.”—Plautus.
“Vulgare amici nomen, sed rara est fides.”—Phaedrus, iii. 9.
“Les amis sont comme les parapluies, on ne les a jamais sous la main quand il pleut.”—Théodore de Banville.
Un véritable ami est un bienfait des dieux. Prosperity gains friends, adversity tries them. Friends and mules fail us at hard passes. In times of prosperity friends will be plenty,
In times of adversity not one in twenty.]
Mieux vaut ami en voie que denier en courroie = A friend at court is better than money.
Il ne faut prendre de son ami tout ce qu’on peut = Friends are like fiddle-strings, they must not be screwed too tight.
“Les amis de l’heure présente
Ont la nature du melon,
Il en faut essayer cinquante
Avant qu’on rencontre un bon.”
Claude Mermet (1550-1605).
= Trust not a new friend nor an old enemy; Acquaintances are many, but friends are few.
Amitié
Faites mes amitiés à votre frère = Remember me kindly to your brother.
Amour
Faites-le pour l’amour de moi = Do it for my sake.
L’Amour force toutes les serrures = Love laughs at locksmiths.
Vivre d’amour et d’eau fraîche (or, claire) = To live on bread and cheese and kisses.
*On revient toujours à ses premières amours = One always returns to one’s first love; Who loves well, forgets ill.
[C. G. Étienne, Joconde, iii. 1.]
Jamais l’amour ne se paye que par l’amour = Love can neither be bought nor sold, its only price is love.
[“Amour au cœur me poind
Quand bien-aimé je suis,
Mais aimer je ne puis
Quand on ne m’aime point.
Chacun soit adverti
De faire comme moi,
Car d’aimer sans party
C’est un trop grand esmoy.”
Clément Marot.
Lieb ohne Gegenlieb ist wie eine Frage ohne Antwort.]
On dirait qu’il le fait pour l’amour du bon Dieu = He does it with such bad grace that one would say he did it for conscience’ sake.
[“Qui que tu sois, voici ton maître,
Il l’est, le fut, ou le doit être.”
Voltaire, Inscription pour une statue de l’Amour dans les Jardins de Maisons.
“A l’Amour on résiste en vain;
Qui n’aima jamais aimera demain.”
De Benserade, L’Amour, ed. 1690, p. 234.]
Amuser
Amuser le tapis = To talk a great deal without coming to the point; To talk time away.
Ne vous amusez pas en route = Do not lose an instant on the way.
An
Je m’en moque comme de l’an quarante = I don’t care a straw for it.
[There was a superstition that the world would come to an end in 1040; after it had passed, this saying arose. The French also say “Je m’en moque comme de Colin-tampon.” Colin-tampon is the name given to the Swiss roll of the drum; and as the other soldiers in the French army paid no attention to it out of jealousy and esprit de corps, this saying arose. Another variant is “Je m’en soucie autant qu’un poisson d’une pomme.”]
Bon an, mal an = One year with another; On an average.
Âne
Ressembler à l’âne de Buridan = Not to know what to do.
[Jean Buridan was a dialectician of the fourteenth century, and Rector of the University of Paris. One of his most famous dilemmas was that of the donkey equally hungry and thirsty, which was placed halfway between a pail of water and a load of hay. If the animal had no free-will, it would remain motionless between two equal attractions, and so die of hunger and thirst.]
Contes de Peau d’Âne = Nursery tales.
[A name derived from a tale of Perrault, in which the heroine is so called.]
Pour un point (or, Faute d’un point) Martin perdit son âne = For want of a nail the shoe was lost (or, the miller lost his mare); Be careful of trifles.
[This is said of a person who loses something valuable through a trifle. The Abbey of Asello (Latin asellus = little ass) was taken from the Abbot Martin on account of his punctuation of a sentence over the gateway. Instead of: Porta patens esto, nulli claudaris honesto (Gate be open, and be closed to no honest man), he punctuated: Porta patens esto nulli, claudaris honesto (Gate, be open to none, be closed to an honest man). His successor corrected the mistake, and added: Uno pro puncto caruit Martinus Asello.]
Il fait l’âne pour avoir du son = He simulates stupidity to gain some material advantage.
Brider un âne par la queue = To do anything in exactly the wrong manner; To get hold of the wrong end of the stick.
Il n’y a point d’âne plus mal bâté que celui du commun = What is everybody’s business is nobody’s business.
[Walton, Compleat Angler, Part i. chap. ii.]
Ange
Être aux anges = To be delighted, in raptures, in the seventh heaven.
Un ange bouffi = A chubby child.
Anguille
Échapper comme une anguille = To be as slippery as an eel.
Quand on veut trop serrer l’anguille, elle s’échappe = “Much would have more and lost all”; He who is too greedy loses everything. (See [Embrasser].)
Vouloir rompre l’anguille au genou = To attempt an impossibility.
Il est comme l’anguille de Melun (more correctly, Languille de Melun), il crie avant qu’on l’écorche = He is like the eel of Melun, he cries out before he is hurt.
[An actor, called Languille, was once acting the part of St. Bartholomew at Melun, when he was so frightened at the entry of the executioner to flay him alive, that he rushed off the stage yelling.]
Il y a quelque anguille sous roche = There is a snake in the grass; I can smell a rat.
[Lat. Latet anguis in herba.]
Anonyme
Société anonyme = Limited Liability Company (because the names of the shareholders are unknown to the public).
Anse
Faire danser l’anse (or, le manche) du panier = To make dishonest profits on marketing (of servants); To gain a market-penny.
Faire le pot (or, panier) à deux anses = To put one’s arms akimbo.
[Often said of a gentleman who has a lady on each arm.]
Antan
“Où sont les neiges d’antan?” = Where are the snows of yester-year?
[Antan is an old French word derived from ante and annus. The quotation is the refrain of François Villon’s famous “Ballade des Dames du temps jadis.”]
Apache
C’est un apache (pop.) = He is a hooligan.
Apothicaire
C’est un apothicaire sans sucre = He is unprovided with the necessities of his profession.
[Druggists in France formerly sold sugar which they used almost in every preparation. Hence one who had no sugar was badly stocked.]
Apôtre
Faire le bon apôtre = To put on a saintly look; To pretend to be holy.
[“Tout Picard que j’étais, j’étais un bon apôtre Et je faisais claquer mon fouet tout comme un autre.”
Racine, Plaideurs, i. 1.]
Apparence
Pour sauver les apparences = For the sake of appearances.
Selon toute apparence = In all probability.
Appartenir
A tous ceux qu’il appartiendra (legal) = To all whom it may concern.
Appât
*C’est un trop vieux poisson pour mordre à l’appât = He is too old a bird to be caught with chaff.
Appel
Faire l’appel = To call the roll.
Manquer à l’appel = To be missing, absent.
Battre l’appel = To call to arms.
Il appelle les choses par leur nom = He calls a spade a spade.
[“J’appelle un chat un chat, et Rolet un fripon.”—Boileau, Satires, i. 52.]
Voilà ce que j’appelle pleuvoir = This is what I call raining with a vengeance.
Appétit
Bon appétit = Good appetite; I hope you will enjoy your meal.
*L’appétit vient en mangeant = One leg of mutton helps down another; The more one has the more one wants; Begin to eat, you’ll soon be hungry.
[“As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on.”
Hamlet, i. 2.
“L’appétit vient en mangeant, disait Angeston, mais la soif s’en va en buvant.”—Rabelais, Gargantua, i.]
*Il n’est chère que d’appétit = Hunger is the best sauce.
[“Ἡ ἐπιθυμία τοῦ σίτου ὄψον.”
Xenophon, Cyrop. i. 5, 12.]
*Pain dérobé réveille appétit = Stolen joys are sweet.
Apprendre
Les malheurs s’apprennent bien vite = Ill news flies fast (or, apace).
Vous apprendrez avec plaisir.... = You will be glad to hear....
*Ce n’est pas à un vieux singe qu’on apprend à faire des grimaces (fam.) = One does not teach one’s grandmother to suck eggs. (See [Remontrer].)
[The Greek equivalent was, “To teach an eagle to fly,” or “to teach a dolphin to swim.”—Zenob. ii. 49.
The Romans said, “Sus Minervam docet.” Cf. Cicero, De Oratore, ii. 57.]
Apprenti
*Apprenti n’est pas maître = One must not expect from a beginner the talent of an old hand; You must spoil before you spin.
Appui
Mur à hauteur d’appui = A wall breast high (so that one may lean against it).
Faites la proposition, j’irai à l’appui de la boule = You make the proposal, and I will support it.
[This idiom comes from the game of bowls, when by hitting your partner’s ball you may drive it nearer the goal, though unable to approach yourself.]
Appuyer
Vous vous appuyez sur un roseau = You are trusting to a broken reed.
Après
*Après lui il faut tirer l’échelle = One cannot do better than he has; No one can come up to him in that; That takes the cake.
[Comp. Molière, Médecin malgré lui, ii. 1.]
*Jeter le manche après la cognée = To throw the helve after the hatchet; To give up in despair.
*Après nous le déluge = A short life and a merry one; We need not bother about what will happen after we are gone.
[These words were attributed to Madame de Pompadour (1721-1764) in reply to those who remonstrated with her for her extravagance—“When I am gone, the deluge may come for all I care.” (See Desprez, Essai sur la Marquise de Pompadour, a preface to his Mémoirs de Madame du Hausset.) The same idea occurs in the Greek proverb quoted by Cicero (De Finibus, iii. 19), “Ἐμοῦ θανόντος γαῖα μιχθήτω πυρί.” Milton suggests Tiberius as saying, “When I die, let the earth be rolled in flames.”—Reason of Church Government, i. 5.]
Araignée
Avoir une araignée dans le (or, au) plafond = To have a bee in one’s bonnet.
Arbre
*Entre l’arbre et l’écorce il ne faut pas mettre le doigt = One must not interfere in other people’s quarrels.
[This proverb has been travestied by Molière, who makes Sganarelle say: “Apprenez que Cicéron dit qu’entre l’arbre et le doigt il ne faut pas mettre l’écorce.”—Le Médecin malgré lui, i. 2.]
L’arbre ne tombe pas au premier coup = Everything requires time and exertion; Rome was not built in a day.
Quand l’arbre est tombé tout le monde court aux branches = When the tree falls every one goeth to it with his hatchet.
Il s’est toujours tenu au gros de l’arbre = He has always sided with the stronger side.
Arc
Débander l’arc ne guérit pas la plaie = To cease doing mischief does not undo the harm one has done.
Arçon
Être ferme sur les arçons = (lit.) To have a firm seat in the saddle; (fig.) Not to waver in one’s principles.
Il a vidé les arçons = He was unhorsed.
L’argent est un bon passe-partout = Gold goes in at any gate, except heaven.
[“Amour fait moult
Mais argent fait tout.”]
Être cousu d’argent = To be made of money; To be rolling in riches.
Il est chargé d’argent comme un crapaud de plumes = He is penniless.
Y aller bon jeu bon argent = To set about a thing in earnest.
*Point d’argent, point de Suisse = No money, no Swiss; No pay, no piper.
[In the Middle Ages the Swiss were the chief mercenaries of Europe, and occasionally had to resort to severe measures to obtain their pay. Compare Racine, Plaideurs, i. 1. One day when the Swiss were asking for their pay from the king the French Prime Minister said: “The money we have given these Swiss would pave a road from Paris to Basle.” To which the Swiss commander replied: “And the blood we have shed for France would fill a river from Basle to Paris!”]
Payer argent comptant = To pay ready money; To pay in hard cash.
[Synonyms are: En beaux deniers comptants or, en espèces sonnantes et trébuchantes.]
Prendre quelque chose pour argent comptant = To take something for gospel.
Je suis à court d’argent (fam. à sec) = I am short of money (fam. hard up, broke).
*Qui n’a pas argent en bourse, ait miel en bouche = He who has not silver in his purse should have honey on his tongue.
*Argent emprunté porte tristesse = He who goes a-borrowing goes a-sorrowing.
Arme
Représenter les armes de Bourges = To look stupid.
[The arms of Bourges are an ass sitting in an armchair.]
Les armes sont journalières = Victory is fickle.
Arracher
On se l’arrache = (of persons) He is the rage; (of things) There is a regular scramble for it.
Arracheur
Mentir comme un arracheur de dents = To lie unblushingly; To lie like an epitaph.
Arranger
Comme vous voilà arrangé! = What a sight you look!
Je l’ai arrangé de la bonne manière = I gave him what he richly deserved.
Arrangez-vous = That is your business; Settle it among yourselves.
Arrêt
Mettre un officier aux arrêts = To put an officer under arrest.
Garder les arrêts = To keep to one’s quarters.
Lever les arrêts = To release from arrest.
Arriver
C’est un homme qui arrivera = He is sure to get on in the world.
*Un malheur n’arrive jamais seul = Misfortunes never come singly; It never rains but it pours.
*Cela arrive comme marée en carême = That comes just in the nick of time (lit. as sea-fish in Lent). See [Carême].
Article
Être à l’article de la mort (or, à l’agonie) = To be at death’s door.
[Lat. In articulo mortis.]
Assembler
*Qui se ressemble, s’assemble = Birds of a feather flock together; Like will to like.
Assiette
Il n’est pas dans son assiette = He is not in his normal state of mind; He is out of sorts; He is not up to the mark.
Son assiette dîne pour lui = He pays for his dinner whether he is present or not.
C’est un casseur d’assiettes = He is a swaggerer (a Mohock, in eighteenth century parlance).
C’est un pique-assiette = He is a parasite, a sponge.
L’assiette des impôts = The assessment of taxes.
Attache
Le pauvre homme est toujours (comme un chien) à l’attache = The poor man is a very slave, is compelled to work hard and constantly.
Attacher
*Attacher le grelot = To bell the cat.
[La Fontaine, Conseil tenu par les rats. For an explanation of the phrase see [Grelot].]
Attaquer
*Attaquer le taureau par les cornes = To seize the bull by the horns.
Atteinte
Porter atteinte (à l’honneur de) = To sully (the fair name of).
Porter atteinte (aux droits de) = To infringe (the rights of).
Atteler
C’est une charrette mal attelée = They are a badly-matched pair.
Attendre
Une question n’attendait pas l’autre = Question quickly followed after question.
Je m’y attendais = That is just what I expected.
Attendez-vous-y = You may depend upon it; (or, ironic.) Don’t you wish you may get it!
*Tout vient à point à qui sait attendre = Everything comes to the man who waits; Time and patience change the mulberry leaf into a silk gown.
On peut s’attendre à tout, surtout à l’inattendu = One may expect anything, especially the unexpected.
Attraper
Attrape qui peut! = Scramble for it!
Attrape! = 1. Catch! 2. Take that! 3. It serves you right.
Audience
Audience à huis clos = A case heard in camera.
Les hommes ne se mesurent pas à l’aune = Men are not to be judged by their size.
[M. Thiers, who was very short, used to say: “Les liqueurs précieuses se conservent dans de petits flacons” = Rich wares in small parcels.]
Savoir ce qu’en vaut l’aune = To know a thing to one’s cost.
Mesurer les autres à son aune = To measure other people’s peck by one’s own bushel.
Tout le long de l’aune = By the yard; Plenty of it.
Aurore
*Travail d’aurore amène l’or = Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
[The late H. Stacy Marks, R.A., parodied this: “Early to bed and early to rise, No use—unless you advertise.”
The German equivalent is, “Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund”—The morning hour has gold in its mouth.
This is also found in Italian: “Le ore del mattino hanno l’oro in bocca.”]
Aussitôt
Aussitôt dit, aussitôt fait = No sooner said than done.
Autant
Cela est fini ou autant vaut = It is as good as finished.
*Autant de têtes, autant d’avis = So many men, so many minds.
[“Quot homines, tot sententiæ.”—Terence, Phormio, ii. 4. Also: “Autant de gens, autant de sens.”]
Autant lui en pend au nez (or, à l’oreille) = He will get just the same (in bad sense).
Autant vaut être mordu d’un chien que d’une chienne = One evil is as bad as the other.
Autant dire mille francs = We may as well say £40. (See [Aller].)
Autant vaut celui qui tient que celui qui écorche = The receiver is as bad as the thief.
[A hexameter of Phocylides says:
ἀμφότεροι κλῶπες, καὶ ὁ δεξάμενος καὶ ὁ κλέψας.]
C’est toujours autant de gagné = That’s always so much to the good. (See [Prendre].)
Autel
*Qui sert à l’autel doit vivre de l’autel = Every man must live by his profession.
Il en prendrait sur l’autel = He would rob a church.
Autour
Tourner autour du pot = To beat about the bush.
[German: “Wie die Katze um den Brei laufen.”]
Il ne faut pas confondre autour avec alentour = One must not mix up two things entirely different.
[The gamin of Paris adds to this saying: “ni intelligence avec gendarme.”]
Comme dit l’autre = As the saying is.
[Or: Comme on dit.]
Nous parlions de choses et d’autres = We were speaking of different things.
C’est tout un ou tout autre = It is either one thing or the other.
L’un vaut l’autre = One is as bad as the other.
Il en sait bien d’autres = He knows more than one trick.
C’est une autre paire de manches = That is quite another thing; That is a horse of another colour.
Il n’en fait pas d’autres = That is always the way with him; He is at it again.
Allez conter cela à d’autres = Tell that to the marines.
[Often shortened to “À d’autres.”]
Nous autres Anglais sommes très réservés = We English are very reserved.
[“Nous autres ignorants estions perdus si ce livre ne nous eust relevé du bourbier.” Montaigne, Essais, ii. 4, speaking of Amyot’s translation of Plutarch.]
*Autres temps, autres mœurs = Manners change with the times.
J’en ai vu bien d’autres = I have outlived worse things than that.
Avaler
Faire avaler des couleuvres à quelqu’un = To say very humiliating things to a man who, on account of his inferior position, is obliged to put up with them; To make any one swallow a bitter pill.
Avancer
Votre montre avance de dix minutes = Your watch is ten minutes fast.
[Compare: “Votre montre retarde de dix minutes” = Your watch is ten minutes slow.]
Cela m’avance bien! (ironic.) = What good is that to me?
Vous voilà bien avancé! (ironic.) = Here you are in a pretty mess! What good have you gained by that?
Je n’en suis pas plus avancé = I am none the wiser (or, nearer).
Avant
Vous allez trop avant = You are going too far.
Ils sont arrivés bien avant dans la nuit = They arrived very late at night.
Avare
*A père avare, enfant prodigue = A miserly father has a spendthrift son.
[“A femme avare, galant escroc.”
La Fontaine, Contes,ii.]
Avec
Avec ça! (colloquial) = Nonsense!
Averti
*Un bon averti (or, prévenu) en vaut deux = A man well warned is twice a man; Forewarned, forearmed.
Aveu
C’est un homme sans aveu = He is a vagabond.
[In feudal times a vassal had to make an avowal to his lord of the lands he held, placing them under his lord’s protection. A man who had no property could not do so.]
*Rien ne soulage comme un aveu sincère = Open confession is good for the soul.
Aveugle
Crier comme un aveugle (qui a perdu son bâton or, son chien) = To yell with all one’s might.
[A variant is: Crier comme un sourd, although deaf people generally speak very quietly.]
Il est toujours du bon avis = His opinion is always good.
Il y a jour d’avis = There is no hurry; There is plenty of time for consideration.
*Avis au lecteur = A note to the reader; A word to the wise; Verb. sap.
(Il) m’est avis qu’il cherche à vous tromper = Somehow I think he wants to deceive you.
*Deux avis valent mieux qu’un = Two heads are better than one.
[The Greeks said: εἷς ἀνήρ, οὐδεὶς ἀνήρ = One man, no man.]
Sauf avis contraire = Unless I hear (or, write) to the contrary.
Aviser
C’est un avisé compère = He is a cunning fellow.
On y avisera = We will see to it.
Il ne s’avise jamais de rien = He never thinks of anything; He has no initiative.
On ne s’avise jamais de tout = One never thinks of everything.
Ne vous en avisez pas = You had better not.
Un fou avise bien un sage = Good advice often comes whence we do not expect it.
Un verre de vin avise bien un homme = A glass of wine puts wit into a man.
[The French use avoir frequently where we use to be, as in—Avoir faim, soif, chaud, froid, raison, tort, pitié, honte, peur, soin, besoin, mal = To be hungry, thirsty, hot, cold, right, wrong, sorry, ashamed, afraid, careful, in want, ill.]
J’aurai raison de son entêtement = I will master his obstinacy.
J’en ai bien envie = I should like it very much.
Elle n’a pour tout bien que sa beauté = She has nothing but her beauty in her favour; Her face is her fortune.
J’en ai pour deux heures = I shall be two hours over it.
J’en ai pour six mois à m’ennuyer = I am looking forward to (or, in for) six months’ boredom.
Vous avez la parole = It is your turn to speak.
Vous avez la main = It’s your turn to play (at cards).
Vous avez le dé = It’s your turn to play (at dice).
Il ne fera cela qu’autant que vous l’aurez pour agréable = He will never think of doing it if you object to it.
Avoir de quoi (pop.) = To be in easy circumstances.
J’ai de quoi payer = I have enough money to pay.
Il y a de quoi = (lit.) There is good reason; (ironic.) There is no reason.
Je vous demande pardon.—Il n’y a pas de quoi = I beg your pardon.—Pray do not mention it.
J’ai beau dire, il en fera à sa tête = It is of no use my talking, he will do as he likes.
C’est un homme que j’ai dans la main = He is a man I hold in the hollow of my hand, i.e. I can make him do what I like.
Qu’avez vous? J’ai que je m’ennuie = What is the matter with you? The matter is that I am bored to death.
Vous en aurez = You will catch it.
Contre qui en avez-vous? = Against whom have you a grudge?
Il n’est rien de tel que d’en avoir = There is nothing like money to make one respected.
Quand il n’y en a plus, il y en a encore = The thing is inexhaustible; It is easy to get more.
Il n’y a qu’à pleuvoir = It may happen to rain; What if it rains?
Je vais lui dire cela.—Non, il n’aurait qu’à se fâcher = I will tell him that.—No, don’t, he might get angry.
C’est un homme comme il n’y en a point = He is a man who has not his match; There is no equal to him.
Avril
En avril
Ne te découvre pas d’un fil
= Change not a clout
Till May be out.
[En mai
Fais ce qu’il te plaît.]
B.
B
Être marqué au b = To be either hump-backed, one-eyed, lame, or a stutterer.
[i.e. bossu, borgne, boiteux, ou bègue.]
Bâcler
Bâcler son ouvrage = To do one’s work quickly and badly; To “polish off” (or, scamp) one’s work.
[Also: travailler à dépêche-compagnon.]
Badiner
*“On ne badine pas avec l’amour” = Love is not to be trifled with.
[This is the title of one of Alfred de Musset’s Proverbes. See [Porte].]
Bagage
Quel est le bagage de cet auteur? = What works has that author written? What is that author’s output?
Plier bagage = To pack up and be off.
Bagatelle
Bagatelles que tout cela = That is all stuff and nonsense.
Vive la bagatelle! = Away with care!
Bague
Cette place est une bague au doigt = That position is a sinecure.
[C’est une bague au doigt is said of any advantageous possession of which one can dispose easily. Quitard derives it from the custom of the seller of land giving to the purchaser as his title a ring on which both had sworn.]
Baguette
Mener les gens à la baguette = To rule men with a rod of iron; To be a martinet.
Baiser
Il y a toujours l’un qui baise et l’autre qui tend la joue = Love is never exactly reciprocal.
[Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, iv. 5.]
Baisser
Baisser l’oreille = To look confused (or, sheepish.)
[From the action of dogs when expecting a beating.]
Ma vue baisse = I am getting short-sighted; My sight is failing.
[In this sense baisser means to weaken, and is also used of moral and intellectual qualities, as: le sens moral a baissé, ma mémoire baisse.]
Il a donné tête baissée dans le piège (panneau) = He ran headlong into the trap.
Je lui ai fait baisser les yeux = I stared him out of countenance.
Il n’a qu’à se baisser pour en prendre = He has only to stoop and pick it up; He has merely to ask for it to get it.
*Il n’est rien de tel que balai neuf = A new broom sweeps clean.
On lui a donné du balai = They gave him the sack (i.e. dismissed him).
Donner un coup de balai = To make a clean sweep.
Balance
Faire pencher la balance = To turn the scale.
Balancer
Il n’y a pas à balancer = We must not hesitate, but act.
Une balle perdue = A wasted shot; A useless effort.
Une balle morte = A spent ball.
A vous la balle = It is now your turn to act.
Renvoyer la balle = To return the compliment.
Prendre la balle au bond = Not to miss an opportunity; To take time by the forelock; To make hay while the sun shines.
[Also: Prendre l’occasion aux cheveux.
Compare:
“Rem tibi quam nosces, aptam dimittere noli;
Fronte capillata post est Occasio calva.”
Cato, Distichs, ii. 26.
“Her lockes, that loathly were and hoarie grey,
Grew all afore, and loosely hong unrold,
But all behind was bald, and worne away
That none thereof could ever taken hold.”
Spenser, Faerie Queene, ii. 4, 4.
“Occasion turneth a bald noddle after she hath presented her locks in front and no hold taken.”
Bacon, Essays, xxi.
“Remember the old adage and make use o’t,
Occasion’s bald behind.”
Massinger, Guardian, iv. 1.]
Il s’en acquittera bien, c’est un enfant de la balle = He will do it well, he is his father’s son.
[Originally this was applied to children of tennis-players, but now to all who follow the profession of their fathers.]
Ballon
Il lança un ballon d’essai avant de produire son grand ouvrage = He sent out a feeler before publishing his great work.
Ban
Le roi convoqua le ban et l’arrière-ban = The king assembled all his dependants.
[Le ban were the king’s direct vassals, such as earls, barons, and knights; l’arrière-ban were the king’s indirect vassals, or the vassals of vassals. “A proclamation whereby all (except some privileged officers and citizens) that hold their lands of the Crowne, are summoned to meet at a certaine place, there to attend the King whithersoever and against whomsoever he goes.”—Cotgrave.]
Bande
Faire bande à part = Not to mix with other people.
[In Parliamentary parlance, “to form a cave” (of Adullam).]
Banquette
Jouer devant les banquettes = (of actors) To play to empty benches.
Rire dans sa barbe = To laugh in one’s sleeve.
[See [Cape]. This is used always of men, whereas rire sous cape is used chiefly of women.]
Je le lui dirai à sa barbe = I will say it to his face.
Je lui ferai la barbe quand il voudra = I will show him who is master whenever he likes.
Barre
Vous arrivez trop tard, la barre est tirée = You are too late, the line is drawn, the list is closed.
Je ne fais que toucher barres = I am off again immediately.
J’ai barres sur lui = I have an advantage over him; I have the whip-hand (the pull) over him.
[Expressions taken from the game of barres, or prisoner’s base.]
Bas
*A porte basse, passant courbé = One must bow to circumstances.
Il se retira l’oreille basse = He went away with his tail between his legs.
Les vainqueurs firent main basse sur les biens des habitants = The victors pillaged the town.
Rester chapeau bas = To stand hat in hand.
Il m’a traité de haut en bas = He treated me contemptuously.
Bât
Vous ne savez pas où le bât le blesse = You do not know where the shoe pinches him.
[“Je sçay mieux où le bas me blesse.” Maistre Pierre Pathelin, l. 1357. Bât = pack-saddle. Compare the German: Jeder weiss am besten wo ihn der Schuh drückt.
The phrase first appears in Plutarch’s Life of Æmilius Paullus. A certain Roman having forsaken his wife, her friends fell out with him and asked what fault he found in her; was she not faithful and fair, and had she not borne him many beautiful children? He replied by putting forth his foot and saying: “Is not this a goodly shoe? Is it not finely made, and is it not new? And yet I dare say there is not one of you can tell where it pinches me.”]
Bataillon
Inconnu au bataillon (fam.) = I don’t know him; No one knows him.
Bataille
C’était une bataille rangée = It was a pitched battle.
Cet argument est son cheval de bataille = That argument is his stronghold; That is his great argument.
Bateau
Arriver en trois bateaux = To come with great fuss, in great state, with unnecessary ceremony.
[This expression is usually used sarcastically; it originates from great personages or rich merchant-men being accompanied by ships of war. Compare Rabelais, i. 16, and La Fontaine, Fables, ix. 3. Le léopard et le singe qui gagnent de l’argent à la foire.]
Bâton
Il travaille à bâtons rompus = He works by fits and starts.
Conversation à bâtons rompus = Desultory talk.
Il cherchait à nous mettre des bâtons dans les roues = He tried to put a spoke in our wheel.
Le tour du bâton = Perquisites, illicit profits.
Ce sera mon bâton de vieillesse = He will be my support (consolation) in my old age.
Il lui a battu froid = He gave him the cold shoulder.
[Comp. “Majorum ne quis amicus frigore te feriat.”—Horace, Sat., ii. 1.]
Battre la campagne = 1. (lit.) To scour the country. 2. (fig.) To talk nonsense. 3. (of invalids) To wander. 4. To beat about the bush.
Battre la breloque (berloque) = To talk nonsense.
Battre le pavé = 1. To loaf about. 2. To wander about in search for work.
Tout battant neuf = All brand new.
Battre le chien devant le loup = To pretend to be angry with one person to deceive another.
Avoir les yeux battus = To look tired about the eyes.
La fête battait son plein = The entertainment was at its height.
Battre quelqu’un à plate couture = To beat some one hollow.
[Literally, to beat some one so hard and thoroughly, as to flatten the seams (coutures) of his coat.]
*Les battus payent l’amende = The weakest go to the wall; Those who lose pay.
L’un bat les buissons et l’autre prend les oiseaux = One does the work and the other reaps the advantage; One man starts the game and another kills it.
*Autant vaut bien battu que mal battu = As well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb; In for a penny, in for a pound. (See [Chien].)
Baume
Je n’ai pas foi dans son baume = I have no faith in his plan.
Bavette
Quand les femmes sont ensemble, elles taillent des bavettes à n’en plus finir = When women get together they indulge in endless gossip.
Beau
Coucher à la belle étoile = To sleep out of doors.
Déchirer quelqu’un à belles dents = To criticise some one mercilessly; To tear a person’s reputation to shreds.
Il fera beau quand je retournerai chez lui = It will be a very fine day when I go to his house again (i.e. I shall never go).
Voir tout en beau = To see everything through rose-coloured spectacles. (See [Noir].)
Faire le beau = (of dogs) To beg.
Il y a beau temps que je ne vous ai (pas) vu = I have not seen you for many a day.
J’en entends de belles sur votre compte = I hear nice goings-on of you.
Il en a fait de belles = He played nice tricks (ironic).
Il vous en conte de belles = He is telling you fine tales; He is taking you in finely.
Vous me la donnez (or, baillez) belle (ironic.) = A pretty tale you are telling me; Aren’t you stuffing me up nicely?
Ce que vous proposez est bel et bon, mais je n’en ferai rien = What you propose is all very fine, but I shall do no such thing.
Être dans de beaux draps = To be in a pretty pickle (ironic).
Vous l’avez échappé belle = You have had a narrow escape (or, shave).
Il a beau parler, il ne me convaincra pas = It is of no use for him to speak, he will not convince me; Let him say what he will, he will not convince me.
[The origin of this use of beau is obscure. Larousse suggests the origin may be in the idea of having a fine field for operations, which will be of no value, as our: “it is all very fine for me to speak.”]
Il recommença de plus belle = He began again worse than ever.
Vous avez beau jeu = 1. (lit.) You have good cards. 2. (fig.) You have the advantage.
*La belle plume fait le bel oiseau = Fine feathers make fine birds.
Se mettre au beau = (of the weather) To clear up.
Jouer la belle = To play the rubber (or third game, to see which of the players is the conqueror).
Beaucoup
*Beaucoup de bruit pour rien = Much ado about nothing.
Beauté
La beauté ne se mange pas en salade = Beauty does not fill the larder; Prettiness makes no pottage.
Bec
Il m’a tenu le bec dans l’eau = He kept me in suspense.
C’est un homme qui ne se laisse pas passer la plume par le bec = He is a man not easily taken in.
[Clerks bet a newcomer that he cannot write with a pen in his mouth. On his endeavouring to do so, they pull the pen sharply through his lips, thus inking his face. “Qu’on me fasse passer la plume par le bec.” Molière, Les Femmes Savantes, iii. 6.]
C’est un blanc bec = He is a beardless boy, greenhorn.
“Souffrez que je lui montre son bec jaune” = Allow me to show him he is a silly goose.
[Molière, Le Malade Imaginaire, iii. 17. Bec jaune or béjaune is an allusion to young birds whose beaks are generally yellow.]
Il a bec et ongles = He knows how to defend himself.
Avoir bon bec (fam.) = To be a chatterbox; To speak well; To be able to answer back.
[“Il n’est bon bec que de Paris” is the refrain of Villon’s “Ballade des Femmes de Paris.”]
Bécasse
C’est une bécasse = She is a goose.
Bêcher
Bêcher quelqu’un (fam.) = To pick a person to pieces.
Bénéfice
Sous (or, par) bénéfice d’inventaire = 1. (lit. in a legal sense) Without prejudice. 2. (fig.) Only to a certain point, conditionally, for what it is worth, with a pinch of salt.
[e.g. Il faut croire ce conte sous bénéfice d’inventaire. The origin of the legal phrase arose from the fact that an inheritor is liable for the debts of the deceased only in proportion to his inheritance, which is verified by the inventory. Thus, if the debts are more than the inheritance, a sole heir would decline to inherit at all.
Compare: “Un païen, qui sentait quelque peu le fagot
Et qui croyait en Dieu, pour user de ce mot,
Par bénéfice d’inventaire.”
La Fontaine, Fables, iv. 19.]
Il faut prendre le bénéfice avec les charges = One must take the rough with the smooth.
Bercer
J’ai été bercé de cela = I have heard that from my cradle.
Berger
Bon berger tond mais n’écorche pas = We may use but not abuse our subordinates.
Berlue
Avoir la berlue (fam.) = To see things which do not exist; To have a wrong idea of anything.
Besogne
Aimer la besogne faite = To hate work; To like to get work over.
Abattre de la besogne = To get through a great deal of work.
Besoin
*On connaît les amis au besoin = A friend in need is a friend indeed. (See [Ami].)
*On a souvent besoin d’un plus petit que soi = A mouse may be of service to a lion.
[La Fontaine, Fables, ii. 11.]
Bête
*Morte la bête, mort le venin = Dead dogs cannot bite; Dead men tell no tales.
Cet homme est ma bête noire (mon cauchemar) = That man is my pet aversion; I hate the very sight of that man.
Pas si bête = Not so green, foolish.
Il est bête à manger du foin = He is a perfect idiot.
[Also: bête comme (un) chou, une oie, un pot, une cruche.]
*Qui se fait bête, le loup le mange = If one is too confiding, one is imposed upon. (See [Brebis].)
C’est une bonne bête (or, la bête du bon Dieu) = He is a good-natured fellow (not over-clever).
Une bête à bon Dieu (or, bête à Dieu) = A ladybird.
Plus fin que lui n’est pas bête = It would take a smart man to deceive him.
Beurre
On ne peut manier le beurre qu’on ne se graisse les doigts = One cannot touch pitch without soiling one’s fingers; If you have to do with money, some will stick.
[“But I think they that touch pitch will be defiled.” Much Ado about Nothing, iii. 3.]
Il faut faire son beurre = One must make a profit; One must feather one’s nest.
Ça entre comme dans du beurre = (fig.) It is as easy as anything.
Bien
*Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien = Leave well alone.
Grand bien vous fasse = Much good may it do you.
Le navire a péri corps et biens = The ship went down with all hands on board.
Il a du bien au soleil = He has landed property.
Ils sont séparés de corps et de biens = They have had a judicial separation (a mensa et thoro).
Tout va bien = It is all right.
C’est bien fait = It serves you (him, her) right.
C’est bien lui = That’s he all over.
On y est très bien = The accommodation there is very good.
Je suis très bien ici = I am quite comfortable here.
*Qui est bien qu’il s’y tienne = Rest content where thou art; Better dry bread at home than roast meat abroad.
Cet homme est très bien = He is a gentleman.
Mener une entreprise à bien = To bring an affair to a successful issue.
Il est sur son bien-dire = He is on his best behaviour; He minds his p’s and q’s.
Nous voilà bien (ironic.) = Here is a nice state of things.
Il ne faut attendre son bien que de soi-même = Always rely on yourself.
Le bien lui vient en dormant = He becomes rich without any trouble.
Tant bien que mal = So-so; Neither well nor ill; After a fashion. (See [Tant].)
Bientôt
Cela est bientôt dit = That is easier said than done.
Bile
Ne pas se faire de bile (fam.) = To take things easily.
Billet
Un billet de faire part = A letter by which a birth, marriage, or death is made known to friends.
[Cards are used in England for marriages and deaths.]
Un billet doux = A love letter.
*Ah! le bon billet qu’a La Châtre = Promises are like pie-crust, made to be broken.
[The Marquis de la Châtre was the lover of the celebrated Ninon de l’Enclos (1616-1706). When he was obliged to go off to the wars, he made her write him a letter promising to remain faithful to him. On taking another lover, she remembered the letter she had written, and uttered these words, which have become proverbial for any worthless promise.]
Blanc
J’ai passé une nuit blanche = I have not slept a wink all night.
Dire tantôt blanc, tantôt noir = To say first one thing and then another.
Se manger le blanc des yeux = To have a furious quarrel.
*Rouge le soir et blanc le matin,
C’est la journée du pèlerin =
Red at night is the shepherd’s delight,
Red in the morning, the shepherd’s warning.
Evening red and morning gray
Are two sure signs of a fine day.
Blé
Manger son blé en herbe = To anticipate one’s revenue.
Bleu
J’en suis tout bleu (fam.) = Well! I am surprised.
Bloc
En bloc = In the mass, in the lump.
Boire
Plus il boit, plus il a soif = Ever drunk, ever dry.
*Qui a bu n’a point de secrets = When wine sinks, words swim; In vino veritas; Drink washes off the daub, and discovers the man; What the sober man has in his heart, the drunkard has on his lips.
[“La vérité sort mieux d’un tonneau que d’un puits.” Augier, L’Aventurière, ii. 4.]
*Le vin est tiré, il faut le boire = You have gone too far now to draw back; In for a penny, in for a pound.
[At the siege of Douai in 1667, Louis XIV. found himself unexpectedly under a heavy cannonade from the besieged city. In compliance with the entreaties of those around him, who urged him not to risk so important a life, he was about to retire in a somewhat unsoldierly and unkingly fashion, when M. de Charost rode up and whispered this proverb in his ear. The king remained exposed to the fire of the enemy for a suitable time, and held in higher honour the counsellor who had saved him from an unseemly retreat.—Trench. “Le vin est tiré, Monsieur, il faut le boire” is a line in Regnard’s Joueur, iii. 2.]
Ce n’est pas la mer à boire = That is no very difficult matter.
Il boit du lait (fam.) = He is satisfied, happy.
*Qui a bu boira = Habit is second nature; If you take to the habit of drinking you cannot get rid of it.
[“Et quiconque a joué, toujours joue et jouera.” Regnard, Le Joueur, iv. 1.]
Boire comme un trou (une éponge) = To drink like a fish.
Boire un bouillon (lit.) = To swallow water (when swimming); To swallow a bitter pill; To lose a lot of money.
Boire sec = To drink hard; To drink wine neat (without adding water).
Boire le calice jusqu’à la lie = To drink the cup to the dregs.
Il boirait la mer et ses poissons = Nothing can assuage his thirst.
Croyez cela et buvez de l’eau (fam.) = Do not believe that, I know it is not true; Surely you are not simple enough to believe that!
*Qui fait la faute la boit = As you have brewed, so you must drink; As you have sown, so you must reap; As you make your bed, so you must lie on it.
Boire à tire-larigot = To drink excessively.
[The origin of this expression is obscure. Larousse gives the following explanation, adding that it was probably invented to explain the saying, as it can be found in no ancient author. “Odo Rigaud was formerly Archbishop of Rouen, and in celebration of his appointment he had a huge bell cast for his cathedral in 1282. This bell was called after him la Rigaud. After ringing this bell, the bellringers required much wine to refresh them; hence boire à tire larigot, or la Rigaud, meant to drink like one who has been ringing a heavy bell.” Littré favours the derivation from larigot, or arigot, a little flute, and then the expression would be analogous to flûter, a popular word for boire. But probably the correct explanation is that of Sainte-Palaye, who says that a later meaning of arigot was the tap of a cask, so that this being pulled out, one could drink more without any delay.]
Bois
On verra de quel bois je me chauffe = They will see what stuff I am made of.
Faire flèche de tout bois = To use every means to accomplish an end; To leave no stone unturned.
Il ne savait plus de quel bois faire flèche = He did not know which way to turn. (See [Saint] and [Pied].)
Il est du bois dont on fait les flûtes = He is of an easy, pliable disposition (i.e. like the flexible reeds of which flutes were originally made).
Nous avons trouvé visage de bois = We found nobody at home; “We found the oak sported.”
Le bois tortu fait le feu droit = The end justifies the means.
Il ne faut pas clocher devant les boiteux = One must not remind people of their infirmities. (See [Corde].)
Bombarder
Il vient d’être bombardé membre de ce club = He has just been pitchforked into that club (over the heads of more deserving people).
Bon
Il la fait courte et bonne = He is having a short life and a merry one.
*A quelque chose malheur est bon = It is an ill wind that blows nobody any good.
Dites-moi une bonne fois pourquoi vous êtes mécontent = Tell me once and for all why you are dissatisfied.
A quoi bon lui dire cela? = What is the good of telling him that?
A la bonne heure! = 1. Well done! 2. That is something like! 3. At last! 4. Capital!
Il n’est pas bon à jeter aux chiens = He is good for nothing.
Il a bon pied, bon œil = He is sound, wind and limb; He is hale and hearty.
Faire bonne mine à mauvais jeu = To put a good face on misfortune; To make the best of a bad job.
[Also: Faire contre fortune bon cœur.]
*A bon jour, bonne œuvre = The better the day, the better the deed.
Tout lui est bon = All is fish that comes to his net.
Si bon vous semble = If you think fit.
*Les bons comptes font les bons amis = Short reckonings make long friends.
*A bon vin point d’enseigne = Good wine needs no bush. (See [Vin].)
Une bonne fuite vaut mieux qu’une mauvaise attente = Discretion is the better part of valour.
En voilà une bonne! (i.e. plaisanterie); Elle est bonne, celle-là! = Oh! what a good joke! “What a cram!” That’s rather a tall story.
Est-ce qu’il est parti pour tout de bon? = Has he gone for good?
Bond
Faire faux bond = 1. To deceive. 2. To fail to keep an appointment.
Il ne va que par sauts et par bonds = He only works by fits and starts.
Tant de bond que de volée = By hook or by crook.
Bonheur
Au petit bonheur! = I will chance it!
Par bonheur = As luck would have it.
Bonhomme
Petit bonhomme vit encore = There’s life in the old dog yet.
[An expression derived from a game which consisted in lighting a large roll of paper and passing it round a circle of people, each one repeating these words. The roll would often appear to be out, when a vigorous swirl would fan it again into a flame.]
Boniment
Faiseur de boniment (pop.) = A cheap-jack, clap-trap speaker.
[Bonir = to talk like clowns at a fair.]
Bonjour
C’est simple comme bonjour = It is as easy as kiss your hand.
*C’est bonnet blanc et blanc bonnet = It is six of one and half-a-dozen of the other.
C’est un des gros bonnets (or, légumes) de l’endroit = He is one of the bigwigs of the place.
Il a la tête près du bonnet = He is quick-tempered, easily ruffled.
Il a mis son bonnet de travers = He is in a bad temper; He got out of bed the wrong side.
[Also: Il s’est levé du mauvais côté (or, pied).]
Jeter son bonnet par dessus les moulins (of women) = To throw off all restraint; Not to care a straw for what people may think of your bad conduct.
Ce sont deux têtes dans un bonnet = They are hand and glove together.
Être triste (gai, ironic.) comme un bonnet de nuit = To be as dull as ditchwater; To be in the dumps.
[Also: Gai comme une porte de prison.]
Il a pris cela sous son bonnet = 1. He invented it. 2. He took it upon himself.
Ses collègues opinent du bonnet = His colleagues agree with what he says (without speaking). (See [Opiner].)
Borgne
*“Dans le royaume des aveugles les borgnes sont rois” = Among the blind, the one-eyed is king.
[The quotation comes from J. J. Rousseau’s Confessions, Part i., Bk. v.]
Borne
Il est planté là comme une borne = He stands there like a post.
Borner
Il faut savoir se borner = One must place limits on one’s desires.
[“Qui ne sait se borner ne sut jamais écrire.”
Boileau, Art Poétique, i.]
Bossu
Rire comme un bossu = To split one’s sides with laughter.
Botte
Il a mis du foin dans ses bottes = He has feathered his nest; He has taken care of number one.