Part 10

“One crowded hour of glorious life Is worth an age without a name.” Sir WALTER SCOTT, _Old Mortality_, Chap. 34.

Gond

_Cela me fait sortir des gonds_ = That exasperates (unhinges) me.

Gorge

_Cette fumée me prend à la gorge_ = That smoke makes me cough, chokes me.

_Il cria à pleine gorge_ = He cried out as loud as he could.

_Il fera des gorges chaudes du malheur de sa tante_ = He will chuckle over (_or_, make fun of) his aunt’s misfortune.

[“_Prétend qu’elle en fera gorge chaude et curée._” LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, iv. 12.]

_Rendre gorge_ = To have to pay back money unjustly acquired; To disgorge one’s ill-gotten gains.

Gourme

_Ce jeune homme jette sa gourme_ = That young man is sowing his wild oats.

Goût

*_Des goûts et des couleurs il ne faut (pas) discuter_ = There is no disputing about tastes.

*_À chacun son goût_ = Tastes differ.

[Colloquially the _à_ is omitted and the phrase becomes _chacun son goût_. The Dictionnaire de l’Académie gives: _Chacun_ a _son goût_.]

Goutte

_Je n’y vois goutte_ = I cannot see at all.

*_Goutte à goutte on emplit la cuve_ = Many a little makes a mickle.

*_Ils se ressemblent comme deux gouttes d’eau_ = They are as like as two peas.

_C’est une goutte d’eau dans la mer_ = It is a drop in the ocean.

_Boire la goutte_ (fam.) = To have a drop; To take a nip.

_Payer la goutte_ (fam.) = To stand something to drink.

Grâce

_Faites-moi grâce de vos observations, je vous en prie_ = Pray spare me your remarks.

Grain

_Veillez au grain_ = Keep a sharp look-out.

_Avoir un grain de folie_ = To be a little cracked.

Graine

_Ces plantes sont montées en graine_ = Those plants have run to seed.

_C’est de la graine de niais_ = That is something to deceive fools with.

Grand

*_Les grands sont les plus exposés aux coups du sort_ = High winds blow on high hills.

_Faire quelque chose en grand_ = To do something on a large scale.

Grandeur

_Un buste de grandeur naturelle_ = A life-size bust.

Gré

*_Bon gré, mal gré_ = Whether you wish or not; Nolens volens; Willy-nilly.

_Cette maison a été vendue de gré à gré_ = That house was sold by private contract.

_Il le fera de gré ou de force_ = He will have to do it whether he likes it or not.

_Il venait moitié de gré, moitié de force_ = He came somewhat reluctantly.

_De son plein gré_ = Of his own accord.

_De plein gré_ = Voluntarily.

_Nous vous en saurons bon gré_ = We shall be obliged to you for it.

_Je me sais bon gré de ne l’avoir pas fait_ = I am thankful I did not do it.

Grelot

*_Attacher le grelot_ = To bell the cat.

[This phrase arises from the fable (LA FONTAINE, ii. 2) of the rats who held a council as to how they might best defend themselves from the cat. They resolved to hang a bell round his neck, so that they might hear him coming and run away. But the difficulty was to find a volunteer “to bell the cat.” In Scottish history Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus (1449-1514), was called Bell-the-Cat. James III. used to make favourites of architects and masons. The Scotch nobles held a council in the Church of Lauder for the purpose of putting down these upstarts. Lord Gray asked who would bell the cat. “That will I,” said Douglas, and fearlessly he put the minions to death in the King’s presence. Compare SCOTT, _Marmion_, v. 14. The Greek equivalent, Ξυρεῖν λέοντα (= to shave the lion) occurs in Plato, Republic, 341 C. The refrain of Eustace Deschamps’ Ballade 58 is: “Qui pendra la sonnette au chat?”]

Grenier

_Il va de la cave au grenier_ = 1. He rambles in his talk. 2. He writes very unevenly (up and down).

Grippe

_Il m’a pris en grippe_ = He has taken a dislike to me.

Gris

_Il en a vu de grises_ = He had an unpleasant time of it.

_Il lui en a fait voir de grises_ = He plagued him terribly.

Grive

*_Faute de grives on mange des merles_ = Half a loaf is better than no bread. (See _Aimer_.)

Gros

_Ils se sont dit de gros mots_ = They came to high words; They insulted (slanged) one another.

_La servante fait le gros de la besogne_ (or, _la grosse besogne_) = The servant does the heavy work.

_Il n’a qu’un gros bon sens_ = He has only plain common-sense.

_Vous avez touché la grosse corde_ = You have come to the main point.

_Vendre en gros et en détail_ = To sell wholesale and retail.

Grue

_Il m’a fait faire le pied de grue pendant deux heures_ = He made me wait two hours for him; I was dancing attendance on him for two hours.

[“Faites vous sus un pied toute la nuict la grue?” RÉGNIER, _Sat._ xi.]

Guerre

*_À la guerre comme à la guerre_ = One must take things as they come; We must take the rough with the smooth.

_Je l’ai fait de guerre lasse_ = Weary of resistance I did it for the sake of peace and quiet.

*_Qui terre a, guerre a_ = Much coin, much care; Much land, many lawsuits.

[Voltaire’s variant was: “Qui plume a, guerre a.”]

_Ça, c’est de bonne guerre_ = He has only used fair means to defend himself (_or_, attack you); He has acted within his rights, you cannot complain.

Guide

_Mener la vie à grandes guides_ = (lit.) To drive life four in hand; (fig.) To live a very fast life.

Guillot

*_Qui croit guiller Guillot, Guillot le guille_ =

“He that seeks others to beguile Is oft overtaken in his wile.”

The biter bit.

[“For often he that will begyle Is gyled with the same gyle, And thus the gyler is begyled.” GOWER, _Confessio Amantis_, 135.

“For ’tis the sport to have the enginer Hoist with his own petar.” _Hamlet_, iii. 4.]

Guise

_Il fait_ (or, _agit_) _toujours à sa guise_ = He always goes his own way; He always acts according to his own sweet will.

H.

Habit

*_L’habit ne fait pas le moine_ = The cowl does not make the friar; The coat does not make the gentleman.

_Prendre l’habit_ = To become a monk or a nun (of the latter, To take the veil).

Habitué

_Ce monsieur est un de nos habitués_ = That gentleman is one of our regular customers.

Hache

_Cela est fait à coups de hache_ (or, _serpe_) = That is done clumsily, roughly.

Hacher

_Je les hacherais menu comme chair à pâté_ = I would make mincemeat of them.

Haleine

_J’ai couru à perte d’haleine_ = I ran until I was out of breath.

_Ce sont des phrases à perte d’haleine_ = Those are very long-winded sentences.

_Il faut tenir les gens en haleine_ = One must keep the ball rolling.

_C’est un ouvrage de longue haleine_ = It’s a long job, a heavy piece of work.

Halle

_Le langage des Halles_ = Billingsgate.

[Also: _des injures de carrefour_.]

Hallebarde

_Cela rime comme hallebarde et miséricorde_ = That does not rhyme at all.

[The usual explanation of this expression is, that, on the death of the verger of St. Eustache, one of his friends--a small shopkeeper of the neighbourhood--wished to write an epitaph for his tomb. Being entirely ignorant of the rules of verse, he composed the following:--

“Ci-gît mon ami Mardoche Il a voulu être enterré à Saint Eustache Il y porta trente-deux ans la hallebarde Dieu lui fasse miséricorde.” (Par son ami, J. Cl. Bombet, 1727.)

But in reality the proverb is much older. It dates from the time of the old versifiers, one of whose rules was that two consonants followed by an _e_ mute were sufficient to form a feminine rhyme. This led to abuses like the above, and this rule was superseded by another, that the vowel preceding the two consonants must be alike in both cases.]

Hanter

_Dis-moi qui tu hantes, je te dirai qui tu es_ = A man is known by his company; Birds of a feather flock together.

Haro

_Crier haro sur quelqu’un_ = To raise an outcry against any one.

[“À ces mots on cria haro sur le baudet.” LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, vii. 1.

The origin of the word _haro_ is disputed; Littré quotes Diez, who connects it with O.H.G. _hera_ = here. The old opinion was that it was derived from _Ha-Raoul_, an appeal to Rollo, or Hrolf, first Duke of Normandy, and a mighty lawgiver. However, within living recollection the cry of _Ha-Ro! à l’aide, mon Prince!_ was used in the Channel Islands as a protection against force and fraud, when no other defence was possible. See a curious tale in “The Gossiping Guide to Jersey,” by J. Bertrand Payne, London, 1863, p. 15.]

Hasard

_Il corrige le hasard_ = He cheats at play.

[“La fortune est redevenue mauvaise, il faut la corriger.” HAMILTON, _Mémoires de Grammont_, iii.]

Hâte

*_Trop de hâte gâte tout_ = The more haste, the less speed.

[Also: _Plus on se hâte, moins on avance_; _Hâtez-vous lentement_ (Lat. _Festina lente_); _Assez tôt si bien_; and the English popular proverb, “Do nothing hastily save catching of fleas.”]

Hâter

*_Ouvrage hâté, ouvrage gâté_ = Haste makes waste.

Haut

_Tomber de son haut_ = (fig.) To be thunder-struck.

_Regarder de haut en bas_ = To treat contemptuously; To look down upon with contempt.

_Il y a du haut et du bas dans la vie_ = Life has its ups and downs.

_Haut le pied!_ = Be off!

Herbe

*_Mauvaise herbe croît toujours_ = Ill weeds grow apace.

_Votre rival vous coupera l’herbe sous le pied_ = Your rival will cut you out, will take the wind out of your sails, will cut the ground from under your feet.

_L’herbe sera bien courte s’il ne trouve à brouter_ = It will go hard if he does not pick up a living; He would live on nothing.

_C’est un avocat en herbe_ = He is studying for the bar; He is a sucking barrister.

Heure

_A l’heure qu’il est on ne le fait plus_ = Nowadays it is no longer done.

_A l’heure qu’il est il doit savoir la nouvelle_ = By this time no doubt he has heard the news.

_Faites-le sur l’heure_ = Do it this very minute.

_Je partirai tout à l’heure_ = I will start presently.

_Je l’ai vu tout à l’heure_ = I saw him just now, not long ago.

_A la bonne heure!_ = Well done!; That’s right!; Capital!; That is something like!

_Le quart d’heure de Rabelais_ = The moment of payment (_or_, suspense).

[On returning from Italy, Rabelais found himself in the south of France with no more money to continue his journey to Paris. He had dined well at an inn, and while waiting for his reckoning, he packed up some dust in small packets which he labelled, “Poison for the King,” “Poison for the Dauphin,” and so on. The innkeeper noticing these packets and their terrible inscriptions, informed the police, who took Rabelais to Paris free of charge to suffer the penalty of treason. When he was brought before the King, the monarch laughed heartily at the tale and let him go free.]

_Passer un mauvais quart d’heure_ = To have a bad time of it.

Histoire

_Voilà bien des histoires pour si peu de chose!_ = What a fuss about nothing.

_Voilà bien une autre histoire!_ = That is quite another thing.

_Histoire_ (or, _Chansons_) _que tout cela!_ = That is all stuff and nonsense.

_Le plus beau de l’histoire c’était qu’il n’en savait rien_ = The best of the joke was he knew nothing about it.

_Histoire de rire_ = 1. For the fun of the thing. 2. It was only a joke.

Hommage

_Hommage de l’auteur_ = With the author’s compliments.

Homme

*_L’homme propose et Dieu dispose_ = Man proposes, God disposes.

[Also: “_L’homme s’agite et Dieu le mène._” FÉNELON, _Sermon pour la Fête de l’Épiphanie_, 1685.

“A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.”--PROVERBS xvi. 9.

“There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough hew them how we will.”--_Hamlet_, v. 2.

German: Der Mensch denkt, Gott lenkt.]

*_Le style c’est l’homme_ = Style is the man himself; Like author, like book.

[“Ces choses sont hors de l’homme, le style est l’homme même.”--BUFFON, _Discours de Réception à l’Académie_, 1753. There has been much discussion as to what Buffon really did write, whether _le style est l’homme même_ or _le style est_ DE _l’homme même_. In most editions after that of Didot (1843) the latter form will be found, whilst in editions from 1800-1843 the phrase is absent altogether. In the _Recueil de l’Académie_ it is printed _le style est l’homme même_, and of this the proofs were probably corrected by Buffon himself. There is a small pamphlet, _Discours prononcé dans l’Académie française, par M. de Buffon, le samedi 25 août 1753_, which is probably earlier still, in which it is also printed thus. However this may be, the phrase “le style c’est l’homme,” which Buffon assuredly did _not_ write, has become a French proverb, and is in everyday use.]

Honneur

_Nous jouons pour l’honneur_ = We are playing for love.

*_Un homme d’honneur n’a que sa parole_ = An honest man’s word is as good as his bond.

_Il fait honneur à ses affaires_ (comm.) = He meets all his engagements.

_Il ne prétend à votre fille qu’en tout bien tout honneur_ = He has honourable intentions towards your daughter.

Honte

_Nous lui avons fait honte_ = 1. We caused him to feel ashamed of himself. 2. He was ashamed of us.

Honteux

*_Jamais honteux n’eut belle amie_ = Faint heart never won fair lady.

*_Il n’y a que les honteux qui perdent_ = Nothing ask, nothing have.

Hors

_Hors ligne_ = Standing out from the rest; Out of the common run; Beyond comparison; Incomparable.

_Ce peintre est hors concours_ = That artist is no longer a competitor (having already received the highest award).

Hôte

*_Qui compte sans son hôte compte deux fois_ = He who reckons without his host must reckon again.

Huile

_Sentir l’huile_ = To smell of the lamp (of poetry, etc.).

_Il tirerait de l’huile d’un mur_ = He would skin a flint, get blood from a stone. (See _Cheveux_ and _Œuf_.)

[Aquam a pumice postulare.--PLAUTUS.]

_De l’huile de bras_ = Elbow grease.

Huis

_A huis clos_ = With closed doors; in camera.

I.

Image

_Cette petite fille est sage comme une image_ = That little girl is very quiet, is as good as gold.

Importance

_Faire l’homme d’importance_ = To play the consequential; To give oneself airs; To be pompous.

Importer

_Qu’importe?_ = No matter! It is of no consequence.

_Que m’importe?_ = What is that to me?

_Peu importe_ = It does not much matter.

_Venez n’importe quand_ = Come at any time, no matter when, whenever you please.

Impossible

*_A l’impossible nul n’est tenu_ = There is no doing impossibilities; No living man all things can.

Index

_Les grévistes mirent cette boutique à l’index_ = The strikers boycotted that shop.

[The _Index Expurgatorius_ is a list of books compiled for the Pope which Roman Catholics are forbidden to read.]

Injure

_Ils se sont dit mille injures_ = They abused one another like pickpockets.

_Vous lui faites injure_ = You wrong him.

Inscrire

_Je m’inscris en faux contre cette assertion_ = I emphatically deny the truth of that assertion.

Insu

_Il sortit à mon insu_ = He went out without my knowing it.

Intelligence

_Vivre en bonne intelligence avec quelqu’un_ = To live on good terms with some one.

Intention

*_L’intention est réputée pour le fait_ = The will is taken for the deed.

_J’ai mis ce livre de côté à voire intention_ = I put that book on one side especially for you (to read, to see).

J.

Jamais

_Au grand jamais_ = Never, no never.

Jambe

_Il court à toutes jambes_ = He is running as fast as his legs will carry him.

[Compare: _à toute bride_, _à toute vapeur_, _à toute vitesse_.]

_Il a pris ses jambes à son cou_ = He took to his heels.

_Il a joué des jambes_ = He took to flight.

_Il a des jambes de quinze ans_ = He still walks well.

_Cela ne lui rend pas la jambe mieux faite!_ (ironic.) = And a lot of good that will do him!

_Cela vous ferait une belle jambe_ (ironic.) = A fine lot of good that will do you.

_Il a les jambes en manche de veste_ (fam.) = He is bow-legged.

_Il le fera par dessous la jambe_ = He will do it with the greatest ease (_or_, carelessly).

_Il a des fourmis dans les jambes_ = He is fidgety, restless.

Jaune

_Jaune comme un coing_ = As yellow as a guinea.

Jean

_Être gros Jean comme devant_ = To be no better off than one was before, in spite of all one’s efforts. [RABELAIS, _Pantagruel_, iv. second prologue, and LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, vii. 10.]

Jeter

_Il jette son argent par les fenêtres_ = He plays ducks and drakes with his money.

_C’est jeter de l’huile sur le feu_ = It is adding fuel to the fire (flames).

Jeu

*_Jeu qui trop dure ne vaut rien_ (Charles d’Orléans) = Too much of a good thing is bad.

_C’est vieux jeu_ = That is quite old-fashioned.

_Ne me mettez pas en jeu_ = Do not mix me up in it.

_Cela passe le jeu_ = That is beyond a joke.

*_Jeu de mains, jeu de vilains_ = 1. Horse-play is not gentlemanly. 2. Rough play often ends in tears.

_Il fait bonne mine à mauvais jeu_ = He puts a good face on the matter; He makes the best of a bad job.

*_A beau jeu beau retour_ = One good turn deserves another.

_Nous sommes à deux de jeu_ = We are even; We are a match for each other; Two can play at that game.

_Je vous donne beau jeu_ = (lit.) I give you good cards; (fig.) I give you a good opportunity; I play into your hands.

_Jouer gros jeu_ = (lit.) To play for high stakes; (fig.) To risk very much in an attempt.

_Cela n’est pas du jeu_ = 1. That is not fair, not cricket; You are not playing the game. 2. That was not agreed upon.

Jeune

*_Qui jeune n’apprend, rien ne saura_ = An old dog will learn no tricks. (See _Jeunesse_.)

Jeunesse

*_Si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait_ = If only the young had experience and the old strength; 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.” [POPE, _Moral Essays_, i. 149.]

Youth and white paper take any impression.

[Also: _Vieil arbre mal aisé à redresser_. Compare the English, “Old dogs are hard to train.” (See _Jeune_.)

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”--PROVERBS xxii. 6.]

_Il faut que jeunesse se passe_ = Boys will be boys.

Joie

_Un rabat-joie_ = A mar-joy; A wet blanket.

Jouer

_Il joua de son reste_ = He played his last card; He was on his last legs.

[Carefully distinguish this from _Jouir de son reste_ = To make the most of one’s remaining time.]

_Il joue au plus sûr_ = He plays a safe game.

_Jouer de malheur_ = To have a run of ill-luck.

_Jouer serré_ = To act cautiously; To leave nothing to chance.

Jour

_Ces gens vivent au jour le jour_ = Those men live from day to day, from hand to mouth.

*_À chaque jour suffit sa peine_ = Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

_Je suis à jour_ = I am up to date; I am not behind in my work.

*_Tôt ou tard la vérité se fait jour_ = Sooner or later the truth will come out.

_C’est le jour et la nuit_ = They are as different as chalk and cheese.

_Il n’est si long jour qui ne vienne à vêpres_ =

“Be the day weary, be the day long, At length it ringeth to evensong.”

[From a poem by Stephen Hawes, a poet of the reign of Henry VII.

Compare:

“Come what come may, Time and the hour runs through the roughest day.” _Macbeth_, i. 3.

And:

Come day, go day, God brings Sunday.]

_A bon jour, bonne œuvre_ = The better the day, the better the deed.

*_Ce n’est pas tous les jours fête_ = 1. Christmas comes but once a year. 2. One cannot always have “a high old time,” but must work as well. 3. Life is not all beer and skittles.

_D’aujourd’hui en huit_ = This day week.

_Il y a aujourd’hui huit jours_ = This day last week.

_En plein jour_ = In broad daylight.

_Il y a quinze ans jour pour jour_ = It was fifteen years ago to the very day.

_Prendre jour_ = To agree upon a day for an appointment.

Juge

*_De fou juge briève (brève) sentence_ = A fool’s bolt is soon shot.

Juger

_Juger sur l’étiquette du sac_ = To judge by appearances, by the exterior.

_Au juger_ = At a guess.

Jurer

_Le vert jure avec le jaune_ = Green does not match with yellow; Green clashes with yellow.

_Jurer comme un templier (charretier, païen)_ = To swear like a trooper.

Juste

_Au plus juste prix_ = At the lowest price.

_Comme de juste_ = Rightly enough.

[Littré condemns this expression as ungrammatical, giving the correct form as: _comme il est juste_. It is, however, almost universally used.]

Justice

_Passer à pleines voiles à travers les mailles de la justice_ = To drive a coach-and-four through an Act of Parliament.

[Also: _Il est facile de donner une entorse à la loi._]

_La justice ne connaît personne_ = Justice is no respecter of persons.

L.

Là

_Je jette là mon soufflet avec dépit_ = I fling aside my bellows in disgust. [É. SOUVESTRE, _Le Philosophe sous les toits_.]

Laine

_Nous sommes allés chercher de la laine et nous sommes revenus tondus_ = We went out to shear and returned shorn; The biter bit.

Laisser

_Cela laisse à désirer_ = There is room for improvement; It is not quite the thing.

_Je ne laisse pas d’être inquiet_ = In spite of all that, I am anxious.

[Here we have the old meaning of laisser (= laxare) to leave off. Hence, I do not leave off being anxious.]

_C’est à prendre ou à laisser_ = You must take it or leave it; It’s a case of Hobson’s choice.

_Il se laissa faire_ = He offered no resistance.

Langage

*“_Je vis de bonne soupe et non de beau langage_” = “Fair words butter no parsnips.”

[The French is found in MOLIÈRE, _Les Femmes Savantes_, ii. 7, and the English equivalent in WYCHERLEY, _Plain Dealer_, v. 3.

Also: _C’est un bel instrument que la langue._]

Langue

_Ils tiraient la langue_ = (lit.) They put their tongues out; (fig.) They showed signs of distress.

_Il a la langue trop longue_ = He cannot hold his tongue.

_Il a la langue bien pendue_ = He has the gift of the gab.

_Jeter sa langue aux chiens_ = To give up guessing (conundrums, etc.). (See _Chat_.)

_La langue lui a fourché_ = He made a slip of the tongue.

Lanterne

_Il veut nous faire prendre des vessies pour des lanternes_ = He would have us believe that the moon is made of green cheese.

Large

_Prendre le large_ = To run for the offing (nav.); To run away.

_Au large_ = In the open sea. (See _Plein_.)

Larron

_Ils s’entendent comme larrons en foire_ = They are as thick as thieves.

*_L’occasion fait le larron_ = Opportunity makes the thief; Keep yourself from opportunities and God will keep you from sins.

[“How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds Makes ill deeds done.” SHAKESPEARE, _King John_, iv. 2.]

Latin

_Latin de cuisine_ = Dog Latin.

_J’y perds mon latin_ = I cannot make it out; I am nonplussed; I can make neither head nor tail of it.

_Être au bout de son latin_ (or, _rouleau_) = To be at one’s wits’ end; Not to know what to do, or say, next.

Lettre

_Je lui ai dit la chose en toutes lettres_ = I told him the matter plainly.

_Ne prenez pas ce que je dis au pied de la lettre_ = Do not take what I say literally.

Lever

_J’en lèverais la main_ = I would swear to it; I would take my oath to it.

[The oath in courts of justice is taken in many countries with the right hand raised, palm outwards. In England we kiss a Bible.]

_Le président leva la séance_ = The chairman dissolved the meeting; The Speaker left the chair.