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.
“Avoir l’intention de” is a common French expression that translates to “to intend to,” “to have the intention of” or “to mean to” in English. It is used to express a plan, goal, or something you are planning to do. This phrase is quite versatile and can be used in various contexts, whether formal or…
“En catimini” is a French expression that means furtively, stealthily, on the sly or discreetly. It dates back to the second half of the 14th century. The word “catimini” is often linked to the Greek word “katamenia” which means menstruation. The idea being that women of the era kept their menstrual status largely to themselves….
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 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…
This expression means “in single file” or “each one behind the other.” It is a shortened form of “à la queue du leu le leu.” The word “leu” is the old word for “wolf” in French. So the longer form meant “at the tail of the wolf, the wolf” meaning that the wolves would travel…
The French verb “s’attendre à” means “to expect” or “to anticipate.” “S’attendre à” vs. “Attendre” The primary difference between “s’attendre à” and “attendre” is that “s’attendre à” is reflexive (or “pronominal” as we say in French) and “attendre” is not. While “attendre” means “to wait for” or “to await,” “s’attendre à” means “to expect” or…
