Blanchir de l’argent

“Blanchir de l’argent” is a French expression meaning “to launder money.” Literally it means to whiten or to whitewash money, but in English you would say to launder. Just like the English expression, “blanchir de l’argent” means to give illegally gained money a valid, legal existence by hiding its criminal origins. This is done in a variety of ways such as investing illegal money in legal businesses or by staking some of it at the gambling tables and passing off winnings as legally obtained money.

“Blanchir” means to whiten, as in treatments for whitening teeth, or to whitewash, as in whitewashing a wall, or to blanch, as in precooking foods in boiling water, or to go pale, as in pale with fright.

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

  • violon d’Ingres

    The French saying “violon d’Ingres” literally translates as “violin of Ingres.” What it really means is “hobby,” “pastime,” or “an activity that you enjoy outside your main job.” Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres was a 19th century painter who created a number of famous works, including Grande Baigneuse (1808), Oedipus and the Sphinx (1808), and La Grande Odalisque…

  • Franchir le Rubicon

    “Franchir le Rubicon” means to cross the Rubicon. It means to take a decisive and irreversible step, to take a decision and accept all its consequences, to make an irreversible choice, or to take an irrevocable decision. The Rubicon is a river that in 49 BC separated Gaul from the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar, the great…

  • mordre la poussière

    The French expression “mordre la poussière” translates literally to “to bite the dust” in English and carries similar connotations. It is used to refer to defeat, failure, or death. Meaning “Mordre la poussière” typically conveys: Origins The expression has ancient roots dating back to Homer’s Iliad, where fallen warriors were described as “biting the earth”…

  • Du tac au tac

    “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…

  • tenir la jambe

    The French saying “tenir la jambe” means literally “to hold the leg.” What it means figuratively is “to hold someone back or to delay someone by saying lots of boring or irrelevant things to them.” This conjures up images of trying to get away from someone who insists on telling you something, even though you…