Passer l’éponge means literally to pass the sponge, but in slightly better English it would be to wipe the sponge. The English saying it most closely resembles would be “to wipe the slate clean.” It means to restart from zero, to forgive, or to forget disagreeable acts. The expression dates back to the start of the 17th century and originally existed in the form “porter l’éponge” which meant to carry the sponge.
“Compter les étoiles” is a French saying that means “to count the stars,” literally. But what does it really mean? It means to undertake an impossible action, or to try to accomplish something that is virtually impossible to achieve. The idiom in French dates back to the year 1531, but it comes originally from the Bible,…
The French saying “se brosser” literally means “to brush yourself.” What it really means is to be obliged to do without something you desire, to make a noise, to rummage around, or even just to wash yourself. It comes from a French idiom “faire brosse,” which meant to miss or to fail. This dates back…
“Appeler un chat un chat” is a French saying that literally means “to call a cat a cat.” It means to call things by their name, to be open and direct, to not mince one’s words, not to fear calling things by their names, to avoid euphemisms. The origin of this expression is unknown. Its…
“Décrocher le cocotier” means literally “to unhook the coconut tree” or “to take down the coconut tree.” In English, it means “to achieve one’s goals, to win a prize, or to triumph.” An equivalent English expression would be “to hit the jackpot.” The saying dates from the 19th century. It refers to greasy pole competitions in…
How do you say “because” in French? Most learners are familiar with “parce que,” meaning “because.” “Parce que” is followed by a phrase containing a verb. That means you can’t use “parce que” to say something like “I won’t go to the beach, because of the rain.” The words “the rain” don’t contain a verb,…
“Finir en queue de poisson” means to end brutally, or to terminate in a disappointing manner, or not to obtain the expected results. It literally means “to end in a fish tail.” Equivalent English expressions would be “to fizzle out” or “to tail off.” The saying dates back to the 1st century BC, to the…
