“Faire d’une pierre deux coups” is a French idiom that literally translates as “to make two strikes with one stone.” It means to reach several objectives with a single action, or to achieve two things at the same time with a single action.
The English equivalent of this French saying is “to kill two birds with one stone.”
The French expression is attributed to Montaigne in the 16th century, but may well date back earlier.
The French saying “faites chauffer la colle !” means literally “have the glue heated up!” or “heat up the glue!” It is used in an often joking way when something has just been broken, or you see or hear something being broken. Unless modern glue, which usually comes prepackaged in a tube, old fashioned glue…
“mettre les écureuils à pied” means “to cut down trees.” Literally it translates as “to put squirrels on foot,” meaning that if you cut down the trees that the squirrels live in, they will then be obliged to move around on foot, on the ground This saying is rarely used these days but dates back…
The French expression “tomber des nues” translates literally as “to fall from the clouds.” “Les nues” is a feminine plural noun meaning “the clouds” or “the heavens.” It is not used these days, except in a literary sense. The modern word for clouds is “les nuages” and for heavens it is “le ciel” or “le paradis.”…
The French saying “bec et ongles” derives its origin from the Latin expression “rostrum et unguibus,” which also means “beak and nails.” This ancient phrase refers to the beak, symbolizing the fierceness and determination of a bird, and the nails, representing strength and tenacity. Throughout history, birds have often been associated with bravery and courage,…
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,…
“Par rapport à” is a French prepositional phrase that is widely used. It means three different things: “compared with/in comparison with/against,” “in relation to,” and “with regard to/towards.” Compared with/against In relation to With regard to/towards