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 “toucher le pactole” translates literally as “to earn the gold mine.” It means to earn or win a very large sum of money, or anything with a high value. It can also mean to win, or to become rich. The origin of this saying dates back to the ancient King Croesus, who…
The French verb “toucher” has a few different meanings. Not all of them are obvious. It can mean “to touch,” “to hit,” “to affect,” “to be next to,” “to get,” “to receive,” or “to win.” “Le toucher” is also a masculine noun meaning “the touch” or “the sense of touch.” to touch to hit to…
“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…
“Faire tintin” means to be frustrated or deprived, to receive nothing when you were expecting something. Despite the illustration above, this saying has nothing to do with the comic book character Tintin. He was created in 1929, but the word “tintin” dates back to the 13th century. It originally referred to the noise of objects…
The French expression “payer au lance-pierres” translates literally as “to pay with a slingshot,” but it means “to underpay.” The saying dates to the end of the 19th century, when slingshots made from rubber become more popular, thanks to improvements in rubber chemistry. The expression originally came from another saying “avec un lance-pierres,” which translated…
Unraveling the Distinction: “Le Tour” vs. “La Tour” in French There are a few words (homonyms) in French where the same word with the same spelling exists, but there is one meaning for the masculine version and a completely different meaning for the feminine version. So when speaking or listening, it is important to distinguish…