l’oeil de Moscou

ByFast French

“L’oeil de Moscou” is a French idiom that literally means “the eye of Moscow.” It refers to an organisation or an individual who spies on other people for the benefit of others. It also refers to technical equipment used to spy on people.

It dates back to the era of the USSR, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Inside the USSR, people were spied on by their government and by agents of their own government.

An equivalent English expression would be “Big Brother,” which is a term that comes from George Orwell’s novel “1984,” which is itself a critique of authoritarian (communist) regimes.

Don’t miss out on new posts – subscribe now!

Don’t miss new articles!

Get 1 email a week with new articles about French

We don’t spam! Read more in our privacy policy

Similar Posts

  • Du tac au tac

    ByFast French

    “Du tac au tac” is a French expression meaning immediately, with vivacity, like lightning, scathingly, or with a quick response. It has nothing to do with Tic Tacs or Tiktok. It comes from the world of fencing. In fencing, to retaliate “du tac au tac” means to reply immediately to an assault. The word “tac” refers…

  • verb: discuter

    ByFast French

    Meaning At its core, “discuter” means “to discuss” in English. However, its usage is not limited to just one type of conversation. Depending on the context, it can encompass a range of meanings such as “to talk,” “to debate,” “to argue,” “to negotiate,” and even “to chat.” Usage with Prepositions Examples of “Discuter” in Action…

  • c’est fort de café

    ByFast French

    “c’est fort de café !” means “it’s over the top!” or simply “it’s too much!”. This idiom is a way of saying something is excessive or exaggerated. It translates literally as “it’s strong of coffee” (or “this coffee is strong!”) and comes from a 17th century expression “c’est trop fort,” meaning literally “it’s too strong,”…

  • faire grève

    ByFast French

    “Faire grève” or “faire la grève” is a French idiom that means “to strike,” or “to go on strike.” This is when workers purposely stop working in their attempt to achieve higher wages and/or better conditions from their employers. The word “grève” in the expression comes from the word for gravel (gravier) which in turn came…

  • aller à la selle

    ByFast French

    The French idiom “aller à la selle” means literally “to go to the saddle.” But it doesn’t really have anything to do with horse riding. What it literally means is “to go to the toilet,” or “to have a bowel movement.” The saying is somewhat dated, so it is not used very frequently these days,…