de V. Payen-Payne

Name: French Idioms and Proverbs
Author: de V. Payen-Payne

French Idioms and Proverbs

Summary

“French Idioms and Proverbs”, is a work by de V. Payen-Payne. It explores elements such as Il n'y, C'est and qu'on.

Quotes from French Idioms and Proverbs (de V. Payen-Payne)

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ François Ier, à la suite d’une chasse qui l’avait séparé de sa suite, se perdit dans une forêt et chercha un asile dans la cabane d’un charbonnier. L’homme était absent; le roi ne trouva que la charbonnière, s’empara du meilleur siège et demanda à souper. La femme voulut attendre l’arrivée de son mari. A son retour, celui-ci reprit brusquement son siège et offrit un simple escabeau au roi: ‘Je prendz cette chaise,’ dit-il, ‘parce qu’elle est à moi: Or, par droit et par raison,
Chacun est maître en sa maison.’ ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Elle a des yeux à la perdition de son âme = Her eyes are so lovely that they will be her ruin.
Vous ne voyez point votre chapeau? Mais il vous crève les yeux! = You do not see your hat? Why, it stares you in the face! (it’s just under your nose) .
La lumière me tire les yeux = The light hurts my eyes.
Il ne le fera pas pour vos beaux yeux = He will not do it for you for nothing.
Nous convînmes de cela entre quatre yeux = We agreed to that between ourselves. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ In 1890 appeared a play called “Paris fin de siècle,” by Blum and Toché, in which occur these words: “C’est un mot nouveau qui dit très bien ce qu’il veut dire. Le siècle n’a plus que dix ans à vivre et, vois-tu, il veut les passer gaiement.” The saying, however, has lost its sense, and is becoming obsolete now that a new century has begun. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ C’est dans le malheur qu’on connaît ses amis. “Chacun se dit ami, mais fou qui s’y repose
Rien n’est plus commun que le nom
Rien n’est plus rare que la chose.”
La Fontaine, Fables, iv. 17.
“Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur.”—Ennius.
“Nihil homini amico est opportuno amicius.”—Plautus.
“Vulgare amici nomen, sed rara est fides.”—Phaedrus, iii. 9.
“Les amis sont comme les parapluies, on ne les a jamais sous la main quand il pleut.”—Théodore de Banville.
Un véritable ami est un bienfait des dieux. Prosperity gains friends, adversity tries them. Friends and mules fail us at hard passes. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Il fait des siennes = He is up to his old tricks again.
Il en sera du sien = He will be a loser by it.
On n’est jamais trahi que par les siens = It is always one’s friends (or, confederates) who betray one. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ C’est toute une affaire = It is a serious matter; It means a lot of bother (or, trouble) .
C’est une affaire faite = It is as good as done.
Son affaire est faite = He is a dead man (of one dying) ; He is done for; He is a ruined man.
Faire son affaire = (of oneself) To succeed. Il fait tout doucement son affaire = He is getting on slowly but surely.
(Of others) To punish. S’il le rencontre, il lui fera son affaire = If he meets him he will give it to him, will “do” for him.
Il a fait ses affaires dans les vins = He made his money in the wine trade. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Il est connu comme le loup blanc = He is known to every one.
*Quand on parle du loup, on en voit la queue (or, il sort du bois) = Speak of angels and you hear their wings; Talk of the devil, he is sure to appear.
*Le loup mourra dans sa peau = A bad thing never dies; A bad man will die a bad man. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ C’est fait du sage =
A fool may meet with good fortune, but the wise only profit by it.
*Plus on est de fous plus on rit = The more the merrier.
*Qui ne sait pas être fou n’est pas sage = He is not wise who does not sometimes make merry; It takes a wise man to make a fool.
*Les fous sont aux échecs les plus proches des rois = In chess the fool stands next to the king. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ L’herbe sera bien courte s’il ne trouve à brouter = He would live on nothing; It will go hard if he does not pick up a living.
Bruit
Faire plus de bruit que de besogne = To be more fussy than industrious.
*Grand bruit, petite besogne = The more hurry, the less speed; Great cry, little wool.
*Qui a bruit de se lever matin peut dormir jusqu’au soir = A good reputation covers many sins.
Les tonneaux vides sont ceux qui font le plus de bruit = The worst wheel makes the most noise.
Brûler
Il s’est brûlé la cervelle = He blew his brains out. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ C’est un sot en trois lettres = He is a thorough fool.
Quelque sot le ferait = One would be a fool to do that.
*A sotte question point de réponse = Answer a fool according to his folly; A silly question needs no answer.
Un sot trouve toujours un plus sot qui l’admire = Even a fool will always find admirers.
[Boileau, Art Poétique, 1.]
Il n’y a pas de sots métiers, il n’y a que de sottes gens = People may be petty, but work never is.
Sou
Il a fait de cent sous quatre livres, et de quatre livres rien = He has brought his noble to ninepence, and his ninepence to nothing. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Marcher à pas de géant = To put on one’s seven-league boots.
Se tirer d’un mauvais pas = To get out of an awkward fix (scrape) .
*Il n’y a que le premier pas qui coûte = In everything the beginning is the most difficult part; The first step downward makes the others easier.
[“Il n’y a que le premier obstacle qui coûte à vaincre.”—Bossuet, Pensées chrétiennes, 9.]
Il prend le pas sur moi = He takes precedence of me. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Il ne s’avise jamais de rien = He never thinks of anything; He has no initiative.
On ne s’avise jamais de tout = One never thinks of everything.
Ne vous en avisez pas = You had better not.
Un fou avise bien un sage = Good advice often comes whence we do not expect it.
Un verre de vin avise bien un homme = A glass of wine puts wit into a man.
Avoir
[The French use avoir frequently where we use to be, as in—Avoir faim, soif, chaud, froid, raison, tort, pitié, honte, peur, soin, besoin, mal = To be hungry, thirsty, hot, cold, right, wrong, sorry, ashamed, afraid, careful, in want, ill.] ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Fin (adj.)
Il sait le fort et le fin de son art = He knows every trick of his trade.
Plus fin que lui n’est pas bête = He who can take him in is no fool.
J’arrive du fin fond de l’Afrique = I have come from the very depths of Africa.
C’est une fine mouche (or, lame) = He is a cunning fellow, a sly dog. (See Compère.)
C’est fin contre fin = It is diamond cut diamond.
[Also: Fin contre fin ne vaut rien pour doublure.]
Fin contre fin gare la bombe = “When Greeks joined Greeks, then was the tug of war.” ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Mettez-moi au fait de ce qui s’est passé = Tell me what happened.
Il lui a dit son fait = He told him what he thought of him (not complimentary) ; He gave him a bit of his mind.
[118]
Si fait! = Yes, indeed! On the contrary!
Cette place est votre fait = That situation is just the thing for you.
Je suis sûr de mon fait = I am sure of what I am saying; I know what I am about.
C’est un fait accompli = It is done and cannot be undone.
Travailler à prix fait (or, à forfait) = To work at an agreed price; To work by the piece.
Prendre quelqu’un sur le fait = To take any one in the act. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Il n’y a pas là de quoi fouetter un chat = It is not worth getting angry about.
*Ne réveillons pas le chat qui dort = Let sleeping dogs lie.
*Le chat parti les souris dansent = When the cat’s away the mice will play.
*La nuit tous les chats sont gris = At night one may easily be mistaken; At night beauty is of no account; When candles are away, all cats are grey.
*Chat botté n’attrape pas de souris = A muffled cat catches no mice.
Comme chat sur braise = Like a cat on hot bricks.
Il n’y a pas un chat = There is not a soul.
Aller comme un chat maigre = To run like a lamplighter. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Vous l’avez blessé au cœur = You have wounded his feelings.
C’est un crève cœur = It is a heart-rending thing.
*Loin des yeux, loin du cœur = Out of sight, out of mind.
Il a cela à cœur = 1. He is striving hard to do it. 2. He takes a lively interest in it.
Cela me tient au cœur = I have set my heart upon it.
Il a mal au cœur = He is feeling sick.
Il a une maladie de cœur = He has heart disease.
Elle fait la bouche en cœur = She puts on a captivating look; She purses up her lips.
Elle a le cœur gros = She is ready to cry; She is heavy-hearted. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Les affaires ne vont pas (ne marchent pas) = Trade is dull, slack.
Je suis dans les affaires = I am in business.
[“Les affaires? C’est bien simple, c’est l’argent des autres.”—Alex. Dumas fils, La Question d’Argent, ii. 7.]
Mêlez-vous de vos affaires = Mind your own business.
Avoir affaire = To be occupied.
Avoir affaire à quelqu’un = To have to speak to (to deal with) a person.
[Sometimes as a threat:
Il aura affaire à moi = He will have to deal with me.]
Avoir affaire de quelqu’un = To need a person.
[“J’ai affaire de vous, ne vous éloignez pas.”] ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Dites-moi une bonne fois pourquoi vous êtes mécontent = Tell me once and for all why you are dissatisfied.
A quoi bon lui dire cela? = What is the good of telling him that?
A la bonne heure! = 1. Well done! 2. That is something like! 3. At last! 4. Capital!
Il n’est pas bon à jeter aux chiens = He is good for nothing.
Il a bon pied, bon œil = He is sound, wind and limb; He is hale and hearty.
Faire bonne mine à mauvais jeu = To put a good face on misfortune; To make the best of a bad job. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Il n’y a point de petites affaires = Every trifle is of importance.
[7]
Ceux qui n’ont point d’affaires s’en font = Those who have no troubles invent them; Idle people make business for themselves.
Les affaires sont les affaires = Business is business; One must be serious at work. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Payer les violons = To pay the piper.
Je ne me paye pas de mauvaises raisons = I will only be satisfied with good reasons.
Vous vous payez de mots = You are the dupe of words; You are taken in by empty words.
Il me la payera = I will make him smart for it.
Qui paye ses dettes s’enrichit = Debt is the worst kind of poverty.
Payer son écot = To pay one’s share (scot) .
Il veut se payer ma tête = He wishes to have the laugh of me.
Pays
*Pays ruiné vaut mieux que pays perdu = Half a loaf is better than no bread. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Passer sur une chose comme un chat sur la braise = To pass lightly over a subject.
Branche
Être comme l’oiseau sur la branche = To be very unsettled.
[This generally refers to a man’s position in life, whether he will stay where he is or be made to leave.] ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ If things were to be done twice, all would be wise.
Ce que poulain prend en jeunesse, il le continue en vieillesse =
“’Tis education forms the common mind.
Just as the twig is bent the tree’s inclined.” ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ On l’a reçu comme un chien dans un jeu de quilles = He was as welcome as a dog at a wedding.
*Il ne faut pas se moquer des chiens (or, du loup) avant qu’on ne soit hors du bois = Do not holloa before you are out of the wood.
Il n’attache pas ses chiens avec des saucisses = He is a regular miser.
Chien hargneux a toujours l’oreille déchirée = Quarrelsome folk are always in the wars.
Jamais bon chien n’a rongé bon os = A good dog rarely gets a good bone; Men rarely get their deserts. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Celui qui sème le vent récolte la tempête = He who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind; Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
Ventre
*Ventre affamé prend tout en gré =
“They that have no other meat,
Bread and butter are glad to eat.”
*Ventre affamé n’a point d’oreilles = A hungry man will not listen to reason; A hungry man is an angry man.
Cela lui remet du cœur au ventre (fam.) = That gives him courage again.
Savoir ce que quelqu’un a dans le ventre (fam.) = To know what a person is worth, what he thinks; To know the stuff a man is made of. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ C’est un homme comme il faut = He is a perfect gentleman.
C’est un homme comme il en faut = He is one of the right sort.
[Sometimes in bad sense: He is the sort of man we want to do that dirty work.]
C’est un homme comme il en faudrait beaucoup = I wish more men were like him (because of his straightforward or courageous nature) .
S’il n’est pas un fripon, il ne s’en faut guère = If he is not a rascal, he is precious near it.
Il s’en faut beaucoup que l’un ait autant de mérite que l’autre = There is a great difference in merit between the two. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Quelle mouche vous pique? = What irritates you? What whim have you got into your head?
Il a pris la mouche = He is in a huff; He got offended.
*On prend plus de mouches avec du miel qu’avec du vinaigre = More is done by kindness than by harshness.
C’est une fine mouche = He is a sly dog, a deep one.
C’est la mouche du coche = He is a regular busybody; The worst wheel makes the most noise. (See Coche and Bruit.)
Faire mouche = To hit the bull’s eye.
Moudre
Il viendra moudre à notre moulin = He will be in want of us some day.
Moulin
C’est un vrai moulin à paroles = She is a regular chatterbox ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ One must put up with the inconveniences of one’s position if one can get nothing better; One must not expect more from life than life can give; We must take things as we find them.
[“Là où la chèvre est liée il faut bien qu’elle y broute.”—Molière, Le Médecin malgré lui, iii. 3.] ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Il faut faire mousser sa marchandise = One must puff one’s goods.
Qu’est-ce que cela me fait? = What is that to me?
Faire huit kilomètres à pied, à cheval, en voiture = To walk, ride, drive, five miles.
Le vert fait bien avec le rose = Green goes well with pink; Pink and green are fit for a queen.
Faire des siennes = To be at one’s old tricks.
Il n’en fait qu’à sa volonté = He is self-willed.
C’est à faire à vous de réussir = You are the man to succeed.
C’en est fait de lui = He is done for; It is all up with him.
Ce qui est fait n’est pas à faire = Better to finish it now than to leave it. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Quand les femmes sont ensemble, elles taillent des bavettes à n’en plus finir = When women get together they indulge in endless gossip.
Beau
Coucher à la belle étoile = To sleep out of doors.
Déchirer quelqu’un à belles dents = To criticise some one mercilessly; To tear a person’s reputation to shreds.
Il fera beau quand je retournerai chez lui = It will be a very fine day when I go to his house again (i.e. I shall never go) .
Voir tout en beau = To see everything through rose-coloured spectacles. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ Les eaux sont basses chez lui = He is hard up; He is in low water.
C’est donner un coup d’épée dans l’eau = It is useless trouble, an unsuccessful attempt.
[“Ἐν ὕδατι γράφειν.”—Plato, Phaedrus, 276 C.]
[103]
Faire venir l’eau au moulin = To bring grist to the mill.
Faire venir l’eau à la bouche = To make one’s mouth water.
*L’eau va toujours au moulin = Property always goes to those who have some already; Money makes money; Nothing succeeds like success.
D’ici là il passera bien de l’eau sous le pont = It will be a long time before that happens. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ C’est le diable qui bat sa femme et qui marie sa fille = It is raining and the sun is shining at the same time.
Tirer le diable par la queue = To be always hard up for a living.
Faire le diable à quatre = To make a terrible noise; To play all sorts of tricks. (See Quatre.)
Le diable chante la grand’messe = He hides his vices under the cloak of religion.
C’est le diable à confesser = It is terribly hard to do.
Il a le diable au corps = He is never still, quite unmanageable, very energetic.
C’est un air de porter le diable en terre = It is an air to conjure up the devil. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

de V. Payen-Payne, French Idioms and Proverbs

“ The matter is that I am bored to death.
Vous en aurez = You will catch it.
Contre qui en avez-vous? = Against whom have you a grudge?
Il n’est rien de tel que d’en avoir = There is nothing like money to make one respected.
Quand il n’y en a plus, il y en a encore = The thing is inexhaustible; It is easy to get more.
Il n’y a qu’à pleuvoir = It may happen to rain; What if it rains?
Je vais lui dire cela.—Non, il n’aurait qu’à se fâcher = I will tell him that.—No, don’t, he might get angry.
C’est un homme comme il n’y en a point = He is a man who has not his match; There is no equal to him. ”

de V. Payen-Payne

Summary

Quotes from French Idioms and Proverbs (de V. Payen-Payne)

Common terms

Similar works

Get perspective with Kwize: daily news enlightened by great literature