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 saying “les chiens aboient et la caravane passe” translates literally as “the dogs bark and the caravan passes.” What it really means is “your insults don’t reach me,” or “I am sure of myself and you cannot prove otherwise.” The saying is originally of Arabic origin. In the Middle East and in North…
The French saying “prendre de la bouteille” literally means “to take from the bottle.” What it really means is to gain maturity, to acquire experience or to grow old. This expression was originally used for wine, which is something that improves with age. It was then applied to anything that is capable of aging, including humans….
The French verb “avoir” is a fundamental verb that holds great importance in the French language. Translated as “to have” in English, “avoir” is an irregular verb that appears in various contexts and is used in a multitude of expressions. Let’s explore the verb “avoir” and its significance in French. Firstly, let’s look at its…
The French idiom “passer au caviar” means literally “to pass to the caviar” or “to switch to the caviar.” This expression comes from Russia. Under the rule of Tsar Nicholas I (1825-1855), censorship was common. In books and journals, areas that had been censored were covered in black ink. This black ink was the same…
The French word “la cuiller” means “the spoon.” It can also be spelled “la cuillère,” which is a spelling that more accurately reflects its pronunciation (KWEE YAIR). Both spellings are accepted in modern French. The spelling of “la cuillère” has recently become more popular, however, due to its more logical connection with standard French phonetics…
“Compter les étoiles” is a French saying that means “to count the stars,” literally. But what does it really mean? It means to undertake an impossible action, or to try to accomplish something that is virtually impossible to achieve. The idiom in French dates back to the year 1531, but it comes originally from the Bible,…
