This French idiom means literally, “the English have disembarked.” From 1815 to 1820, the English Army, wearing their traditional red uniforms, occupied France in their war against Napoléon. After they left, Parisians started using this phrase to mean, “to have her period,” since the flow of unwelcome English invaders wearing red coats resembled red menstrual blood.
The French saying “à couteaux tirés” means literally “at knives drawn,” or “with knives drawn.” What it actually means is a situation of open war, or great tension, or great hostility, or diametrically opposed. The idiom dates back to the end of the 17th century. Historically, arguments were often “resolved” with knives or daggers. So…
The French saying “avoir le coeur sur la main” literally translates as “to have the heart on the hand.” It means “to be inclined to great generosity,” or “to be generous.” This saying dates back to the end of the 18th century. It comes from the idea that your heart is your most precious possession, because…
“Un phoque” is a French masculine noun meaning “a seal,” referring to the marine mammal. Idiomatic expressions Etymology The word “phoque” is derived from the Latin “phoca,” a feminine noun meaning “seal.” Its first surviving recorded usage in French was in 1532, when it was spelled “focque.” By 1573 its spelling had changed to “phoque”…
“Mettre les pouces” is a French idiom that literally means “to put the thumbs.” What it really means is to stop resisting, to give in, to admit defeat or to abandon something. It dates from the end of the 18th century. In that same era, a similar expression “coucher les pouces” (to put the thumbs to…
“que dalle” is a French saying that means “nothing” or “nothing at all.” In modern French, “une dalle” is a paving stone, but this has nothing to do with “que dalle.” The origins of this expression are unclear, with a few theories in existence. One is that it comes from the word for a five franc…
“Avoir de la veine” means to be lucky or to have luck. “Une veine” is a vein. So what is the connection between veins and luck? The term comes from the world of men who searched for gold, diamonds or other precious metals. These metals and diamonds are found in concentrations in rock called “veins.”…