The French saying “mettre de l’eau dans son vin” means literally “to put some water in one’s wine.” It means to be less ambitious, to moderate one’s claims or to moderate one’s demands.
It comes from the practice of moderating the intensity of wine by adding water to it.
The expression dates back at least to the middle of the 16th century.
Equivalent English expressions include “to eat humble pie,” “to lower one’s sights,” and “to tone it down.”
The French verb “exiger” means “to demand,” “to require,” or “to insist upon.” It comes from the Latin verb “exigere,” which means “to drive out” or “to demand.” Examples: Conjugation Présent j’exigetu exigesil exigenous exigeonsvous exigezils exigent Passé composé j’ai exigétu as exigéil a exigénous avons exigévous avez exigéils ont exigé
The French verb “écrire” means “to write.” Conjugation Homologues The French language has several verbs that share the same suffix “-crire,” making them homologues of “écrire.” These verbs are also irregular and conjugated similarly to “écrire.” They often revolve around the concept of writing or describing. Etymology The word “écrire” comes from the Latin word “scribere.”…
Possessive pronouns replace nouns and show ownership or possession. They agree in gender and number with the nouns they replace. In English, they are “mine,” “yours,” “his,” “hers,” “ours,” and “theirs.” Here’s a comprehensive table listing the French possessive pronouns: Possessor Singular Plural 1st person le mien (mine) les miens (mine) la mienne (mine) les…
What does the French word “roman” mean? Is it someone from Ancient Rome? Is it someone who lives in modern Rome? It’s neither – “roman” is the masculine noun meaning “novel” or “fiction” or “books.” “Le roman” also means “The Romanesque” period of architecture, from the 11th and 12th centuries AD. It can also refer…
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,…
“Haut comme trois pommes” is a French expression meaning “Knee high to a grasshopper,” ie very small, tiny or very young. Literally it means “as tall as three apples.” Its origin is unknown but its meaning is quite clear. Don’t miss out on new posts – subscribe now!