Part 6

_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.

_Si le cœur vous en dit_ = If you feel like it; If you have a mind to.

_Je veux en avoir le cœur net_ = I must clear that up.

_Il a le cœur sur les lèvres_ = 1. He always says what he thinks (and this is always something good and kind); He is open-hearted. 2. He feels sick.

_Être plein de cœur_ = To be full of generosity; To be noble-minded; To have a high sense of one’s duties towards others.

_Avoir le cœur sur la main_ = To be open-hearted, frank.

_Un serrement de cœur_ = A sinking at the heart; A feeling of oppression and sadness.

Coiffer

_Voilà l’homme dont elle est coiffée_ = There is the man with whom she is smitten.

_Être né coiffé_ = To be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth (literally, with a caul).

_Coiffer sainte Catherine_ = To remain an old maid.

Coin

_Cet homme mourra au coin d’un bois_ (or, _d’une haie_) = That man will die in a ditch.

Collier

_Il est franc du collier_ = (of a horse) He pulls freely; (of a man) He never shirks his work.

_Reprendre le collier de misère_ = To return to drudgery, to the old routine.

Comble

_Le feu détruisit le bâtiment de fond en comble_ = The fire completely gutted the building.

_Elle est au comble de ses désirs_ = She is at the very height of her wishes.

_Pour comble de malheur, il tomba malade_ = To crown his misfortune, he fell ill.

Comité

_Venez demain, nous serons en petit comité_ = Come to-morrow, there will be only a few intimate friends.

Comme

_Comme ci, comme ça_ = So-so; indifferently.

_Je ne l’ai pas dit, mais c’est tout comme_ = I did not say so, but it is just as if I did.

_C’est tout comme_ = It comes to the same thing.

Commencer

*_N’a pas fait qui commence_ = The beginning is not everything.

[“Qui commence le mieux ne fait rien s’il n’achève.” CORNEILLE.]

_A moitié fait qui commence bien_ = Well begun is half done; A good beginning is half the battle.

[“_Unes vespres bien sonnées sont à demy dictes._” RABELAIS, _Gargantua_, cxl.

Also: _Matines bien sonnées sont à moitié dites. Barbe bien savonnée est à moitié rasée._]

*_Qui commence mal finit mal_ = A bad day never has a good night.

Commode

_Le patron n’est pas commode_ (fam.) = The master (boss) knows all our tricks, is not easily taken in, is very strict, is not an easy customer to deal with.

Compagnie

_Il m’a faussé compagnie_ = He gave me the slip; He did not keep his appointment.

_Vous me traitez comme si j’étais compagnie_ = You treat me as if I were somebody.

_Il n’y a si bonne compagnie qui ne se quitte_ = The best of friends must part.

Compagnon

_Traiter quelqu’un de pair à compagnon_ = To treat any one as an equal; To be “hail-fellow-well-met” (cheek by jowl) with any one.

*_Qui a compagnon a maître_ = One is often obliged to give way to the wishes of those with whom one is associated.

Compas

_Avoir le compas dans l’œil_ (fam.) = To have a good eye for distances.

Compère

_C’est un rusé compère_ = He is a sly dog, a cunning old fox. (See _Fin_ and _Mouche_.)

[Other equivalents are: _un fin_ (or, _fûté_) _matois_ (vide MOLIÈRE, _George Dandin_, i. 2, _ad fin._), _une fine mouche_.]

Compliment

_Sans compliment_ = Really; sincerely; I mean really what I say.

Compte

_Voici votre argent, voyez si vous avez votre compte_ = Here is your money, see if it is right.

_Erreur n’est pas compte_ = Errors excepted.

_Je renonce à ce commerce, car je n’y trouve pas mon compte_ = I am giving up this business, for I make nothing by it.

_Ne l’offensez pas, car vous n’y trouverez pas votre compte_ = Do not offend him, for you would get more than you cared for.

_Nous nous amusons à bon compte_ = We amuse ourselves at a small cost.

_Vous êtes loin du compte_ = You are out in your reckoning.

_On peut toujours à bon compte revenir_ = There is no harm in examining an account twice.

_Je mets cela en ligne de compte_ = I take that into account.

_Faisons un compte rond_ = Let us make it even money.

_Pour se rendre compte de la chose_ = To get a clear idea of the matter.

_Nous sommes de compte à demi dans l’entreprise_ = We are partners on equal terms in the venture; We are going halves in the venture.

_À chacun son compte_ = To give every one his due.

_Au bout du compte_ = Upon the whole; After all.

_Enfin de compte_ = (lit.) When the addition is made; (fig.) When all is told; When all is said and done.

_Il a son compte_ (or, _Son compte est réglé_) = 1. (lit.) He has his due. 2. (pop.) He is done for. (See _Affaire_.)

Compter

_Il lui compte les morceaux_ = He grudges him the very food he eats.

*_Qui compte sans son hôte compte deux fois_ = He who reckons without his host must reckon again; Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched. (See _Chômer_ and _Peau_.)

_Comptez dessus_ = Depend upon it.

Concurrence

_Vous pouvez faire des commandes en mon nom jusqu’à concurrence de 5,000 francs_ = You can order goods in my name to the amount of £200.

Conduire

_Il conduit bien sa barque_ = (fig.) He plays his cards well.

Conduite

_Tous ses camarades lui firent la conduite_ = All his companions saw him off.

Confesser

_C’est le diable à confesser_ = It is terribly hard to do.

Confession

_On lui donnerait le bon Dieu sans confession_ = They would trust him to any extent (because of his saintly appearance).

Connaissance

_En connaissance de cause_ = Knowingly.

_Je suis en pays de connaissance_ = I am among people I know, among old friends.

Connaître

_Il est connu comme le loup blanc_ = He is known to everybody.

_Il gagne à être connu_ = He improves upon acquaintance.

_Je ne le connais ni d’Ève ni d’Adam_ = I do not know him from Adam.

_Je ne le connais ni de près ni de loin_ = I do not know him at all.

_En chiffres connus_ = In plain figures.

_Vous y connaissez-vous en vins?_ = Are you a judge of wine?

_Je m’y connais_ = I understand all about it; I am an authority on it.

_Connu!_ (fam.) = That is an old tale.

_Je la connais, celle-là_ (pop.) = That is nothing new; I’ve been “had” before.

Conseil

*_À parti pris pas de conseil_ = Advice is useless to one who has made up his mind.

*_La nuit porte conseil_ = Sleep upon it; Time will show a plan.

_Il a bientôt assemblé son conseil_ = He makes up his mind without consulting any one.

Conseiller

“_Aimez qu’on vous conseille et non pas qu’on vous loue_” = Prefer advice to praise. [BOILEAU, _Art Poétique_, i. 192.]

Consentir

*_Qui ne dit mot consent_ = Silence gives consent.

Conséquence

_Cela ne tire pas à conséquence_ = That is of no importance.

Conte

_Des contes à dormir debout_ = Tedious, nonsensical tales; Old wives’ tales.

Contentement

*_Contentement passe richesse_ = Enough is as good as a feast.

Conter

_Il vous en conte de belles_ = He is deceiving you finely; He is telling you fine tales.

Contrôle

_Vous êtes porté sur le contrôle_ = Your name is placed on the roll.

Contrôler

_Une chaîne contrôlée_ = A hall-marked chain.

Convertir

_Vous prêchez un converti_ = You are talking to a man who thinks with you.

Coq

_Il est comme un coq en pâte_ = He is in clover.

[Lit. one kept separately from the others to be fattened; _pâte_ is its food. _Comme rats en paille_ is sometimes used.]

_Il est le coq du village_ = He is the cock of the walk.

_Des coq-à-l’âne_ = Cock and bull stories; Disconnected rigmaroles.

Coquille

_À qui vendez-vous vos coquilles?_ = Tell that to the marines. (See _Autre_.)

[CHARLES D’ORLÉANS, _Rondeau_, 148.]

_Rentrer dans sa coquille_ = To draw in one’s horns.

_Il fait bien valoir ses coquilles_ = He praises his goods too much.

Cor

_À cor et à cri_ = With hue and cry; Vehemently.

_Demander à cor et à cri_ = To clamour for.

Corde

_Être au bout de sa corde_ (or, _son rouleau_) = To be at the end of one’s tether; To have no more to say.

_Vous verrez beau jeu si la corde ne rompt_ = You will see fine fun if no accident happens, if no hitch occurs.

_Cette affaire a passé à fleur de corde_ = That business only just succeeded.

_Cet homme file sa corde_ = That man will bring himself to the gallows.

_Il ne faut pas parler de corde dans la maison d’un pendu_ = We must not make personal remarks; We must not allude to the skeleton in the cupboard. (See _Boiteux_.)

_Il a de la corde de pendu dans sa poche_ = He has the devil’s own luck.

[A piece of the rope with which a man had been hanged was, and is even now, considered as a charm against ill-luck. Archbishop Trench adduces other proverbs in reference to the man whose luck never forsakes him, so that from the very things which would be another man’s ruin, he extricates himself not only without harm but with credit: _e.g._ the Arabic: “Cast him into the Nile, and he will come up with a fish in his mouth”; the German: “Würf er einen Groschen aufs Dach, fiel ihm ein Taler herunter” = If he threw a penny on to the roof, a dollar would come back to him.]

_Il tient la corde_ = He is leading; He is first favourite.

_Vous touchez la corde sensible_ = You are touching the sore point.

_Ne touchez pas cette corde_ = (fig.) Do not speak of that.

_Cela est usé jusqu’à la corde_ = (lit.) That is worn threadbare; (fig.) That is thoroughly hackneyed.

Cordeau

_Aux États-Unis les rues sont tirées au cordeau_ = In the United States the streets are perfectly straight.

Cordon

_Cordon, s’il vous plaît_ = Open the door, please (to porters in Paris).

Corne

_Ne faites pas de cornes à ce livre_ = Do not dog’s-ear that book.

Corneilles

_Bayer aux corneilles_ = To stare (_or_, gape) about vacantly.

Corps

_C’est un drôle de corps_ = He is an odd fellow, a queer fish.

_Nous verrons ce qu’il a dans le corps_ = We will see what he is made of.

_Il s’est jeté à corps perdu dans cette affaire_ = He threw himself headlong (_or_, with might and main) into the matter.

_Je le saisis à bras le corps_ = I seized him round the waist (in a struggle).

_Ils se sont battus corps à corps_ = They fought hand to hand.

_Je l’ai fait à mon corps défendant_ = I did it reluctantly, in self-defence.

_Prendre du corps_ = To get fat.

_Il a l’âme chevillée dans le corps_ = He has as many lives as a cat.

Corsaire

*_À corsaire, corsaire et demi_ = Set a thief to catch a thief.

[“Ars deluditur arte.”--CATO.

“A trompeur, trompeur et demy.”--CHARLES D’ORLÉANS, _Rondel_, 46.]

*_Corsaires contre corsaires ne font pas leurs affaires_ = Dog does not eat dog. (See _Loup_.)

[“Corsaires contre corsaires, L’un l’autre s’attaquant ne font pas leurs affaires.”--LA FONTAINE, _Tribut envoyé par les animaux à Alexandre_, imitating Régnier, _Satire_ xii., _ad fin._, who took it from the Spanish _De corsario a corsario no se llevan que los barriles._]

Corvée

_C’est une vraie corvée!_ = What a nuisance! What a bore!

[_Corvée_ originally referred to feudal forced labour. It is now a military term, and means “fatigue duty”; hence, any unpleasant task.]

Côte

_On lui compterait les côtes_ = He is nothing but skin and bone.

Côté

_Être sur le côté_ (or, _flanc_) = To be on one’s back, ill.

_Mettre les rieurs de son côté_ = To turn the laugh against a man.

_Vous êtes du bon côté_ = You are on the right side.

_Vous êtes du côté du manche_ = You are on the winning side.

_Donner à côté_ = To miss the mark.

Coton

_Depuis sa faillite il file un mauvais coton_ (fam.) = Since his failure, his health (_or_, reputation) has entirely broken down.

Coucher

_On est plus couché que debout_ = Life is short compared with eternity.

_Je l’ai couché en joue_ = I aimed at him.

_Coucher dans son fourreau_ = To go to sleep without undressing; To turn in all standing (nav.).

*_Comme on fait son lit, on se couche_ = As you make your bed, so you must lie on it.

_Se coucher comme les poules_ = To go to bed with the sun, very early.

_Coucher sur la dure_ = To lie on the ground, on the floor.

Coude

_Il ne se mouche pas du coude_ (fam.) = 1. He is no fool. 2. He does things in grand style. (See _Pied_.)

_Il a mal au coude_ (fam.) = He is very lazy. (See _Main_.)

Coudée

_Avoir les coudées franches_ = (lit.) To have elbow-room; (fig.) To have full scope.

Coudre

_On ne sait quelle pièce y coudre_ = One does not know how to prevent (_or_, cure) it.

Coule

_C’est un homme à la coule_ (pop.) = He is a smart, knowing chap.

[Compare: _Il la connaît dans les coins, celui-là_ = He knows his business in every corner.]

Couler

_Ce qu’il dit coule de source_ = What he says comes from the heart, comes fluently from his lips.

_Cela coule de source_ = That follows naturally.

_Couler à fond_ = (of ships) To founder; (of persons) To be ruined.

*_Il faut laisser couler l’eau_ = What can’t be cured must be endured.

Coulisse

_Faire les yeux en coulisse_ = To make sheep’s eyes; To ogle.

Coup

*_Faire d’une pierre deux coups_ = To kill two birds with one stone.

_Cette démarche a porté coup_ = That step told, had its effect.

_Sans coup férir_ = Without striking a blow.

_Il a fait un bon coup_ = He has made a good bargain.

_Il vient de faire un mauvais coup_ = He has just committed a crime.

_Pour le coup il ne m’échappera pas_ = This time he will not escape me.

_J’irai à coup sûr_ = I shall go to a certainty.

_C’est donner un coup d’épée dans l’eau_ = It is an unsuccessful attempt. (See _Eau_.)

_Il m’a porté un coup fourré_ = He struck me a blow in the dark.

[This is a term derived from fencing; _un coup fourré_ is a blow struck at an adversary at the same moment that he strikes.]

_Le coup vaut la balle_ = It is worth trying.

_Il faut toujours qu’elle donne son coup de patte_ = She always makes sarcastic (_or_, unpleasant) remarks.

_C’est un coup monté_ = It is a pre-arranged affair.

_On lui a monté le coup_ = They induced him to do it; They deceived him.

_Il a bu un coup de trop_ = He has had a drop too much.

_C’est venu après coup_ = It came too late, after the event.

_Faire les cent coups_ = To amuse oneself noisily; To play all sorts of tricks.

_Être aux cent coups_ = To be half mad (distracted) with anxiety; To be in the greatest difficulties.

_C’est un coup qui porte_ = That is a home-thrust.

_Avoir un coup de marteau_ = To be a little touched.

_J’ai écrit trois lettres coup sur coup_ = I wrote three letters one after the other.

_Un coup de sang_ = A rush of blood to the head.

_Un coup de Jarnac_ = A treacherous blow; A blow below the belt.

[In a duel before the whole Court in 1547, Gui Chabot, Seigneur de Jarnac, wounded his adversary, La Châtaigneraie, with an unfair stroke. La Châtaigneraie refused to survive such an affront, tore off the bandages placed over his wound, and bled to death.]

_Un coup de fouet_ = (lit.) A crack of a whip; (fig.) A sudden contraction of the muscles of the leg (or back).

_Un coup d’état_ = A sudden, unexpected act of policy; A violent change in the Government (_e.g._ 18 brumaire 1799, or 2 décembre 1851).

_Un coup de fion_ (fam.) = A finishing touch.

_Donner le coup de grâce_ = To give the finishing stroke.

_Il gagna mille francs tout d’un coup_ = He won £40 at one shot, all at once, at one “go.”

_Il s’en alla tout à coup_ = He went away suddenly, abruptly.

[_Tout d’un coup_ and _tout à coup_ are frequently used indiscriminately, even by French people.]

_Un coup de tête_ = A moment of passion; a rash action.

_Donner un coup de main_ = To give a helping hand.

_J’ai manqué mon coup_ = I missed my shot; I failed.

_Ils l’ont moulu de coups_ = They beat him black and blue.

[A well-known quotation from Corneille runs:

“Mes pareils à deux fois ne se font pas connaître Et pour leurs coups d’essai veulent des coups de maître.”-- _Le Cid_, ii. 2.]

Coupe

*_Il y a loin de la coupe aux lèvres_ = There is many a slip ’twixt the cup and the lip.

[The Greek πολλὰ μεταξὺ πέλει κύλικος καὶ χείλεος ἄκρου is said to have had its origin in the following circumstances:--Anceaus, an ancient King of Samos, treated with extreme cruelty his slaves who were planting a vineyard for him; until at length one more ill-used than the rest prophesied that for his cruelty he should never drink of its wine. When the first vintage was over the master bade this slave fill him a goblet, and, taking it in his hands, he taunted him with the failure of his prophecy. The slave answered with these words; and as he was speaking news was brought of a huge wild boar that was wasting the vineyard. Setting down the untasted cup and snatching up a spear the master went out to meet the wild boar and was slain in the encounter. Compare the Latin: Inter calicem et os multa cadunt; and the Spanish: De la mano a la boca se pierde la sopa.

Other variants in French are:

_Entre la bouche et le verre Le vin souvent tombe à terre._

_Vin versé n’est pas avalé._

_En amour, en cour, et à la chasse. Chacun ne prend ce qu’il pourchasse._]

_Mettre en coupe réglée_ = (lit.) To cut down periodically (of forests); (fig.) To lay regularly under contribution.

Couper

_Il s’est coupé dans ses réponses_ = He contradicted himself in his answers.

_Il lui a coupé la parole_ = He interrupted him.

_Son père lui a coupé les vivres_ = His father stopped his allowance.

_Ce verre de bière m’a coupé les jambes_ = My legs feel shaky after that glass of beer.

_Couper un cheveu en quatre_ = To split hairs.

_Coupons le câble_ = Let us take the decisive step.

[Sieyès, June 10, 1789.]

_Cela lui a coupé le sifflet_ (pop.) = That stopped his mouth; That shut him up.

_Je vais y couper_ (pop.) = I am going to “cut” that; I am not going to do it.

Courage

_Prenez votre courage à deux mains_ = Summon up all your courage.

_Courage! tout finira bien_ = Cheer up! all will yet be well.

Courant

_Je vous écrirai fin courant_ (commercial) = I will write to you at the end of the present month.

_Je ne suis pas au courant de l’affaire_ = I have not the latest information on the point; I am not up (well posted) in the matter.

Courir

_Par le temps qui court_ = Nowadays; As times go.

_Être fou à courir les champs_ = To be as mad as a March hare.

_Nous courons même fortune_ = We are rowing in the same boat.

“_Rien ne sert de courir, il faut partir à point_” = It is no good hurrying if you have not started in time.

[LA FONTAINE, _Le lièvre et la tortue_, vi. 10.]

Courrier

_Répondez par retour du courrier_ = Answer by return of post.

_Faire son courrier_ (commercial) = To write one’s letters.

Courroie

_Il faut lui serrer la courroie_ = We must curtail his allowance; We must keep him on short commons.

_Faire du cuir d’autrui large courroie_ = To be generous with other people’s money.

Cours

_Les pièces des États du Pape n’ont plus cours_ = The coins of the Papal States are no longer legal tender.

_Un capitaine au long cours_ = A captain of a trading vessel going to foreign ports.

Court

_Je suis resté court_ = I did not know what to say.

_Je l’ai pris à court_ = I took him unawares.

_Il se trouve à court (d’argent)_ = He is short of money.

_Dites cela tout court_ = Say that and no more.

_Il l’a appelé Jean tout court_ = He called him simply (_or_, just) John (without Mr. or surname).

Couteau

_Ils sont à couteaux tirés_ = They are at daggers drawn.

[Formerly: _Ils en sont aux couteaux tirés._]

_Aller en Flandre sans couteau_ = To embark in an enterprise without the necessary resources.

[Also: _Aller aux mûres sans crochet._]

_C’est comme le couteau de Jeannot_ = That is like the Irishman’s gun (said of anything that has been mended so often as to have nothing of the original left).

Coûter

_Rien ne lui coûte_ = He sticks at nothing; He spares no trouble.

_Coûte que coûte_ = Cost what it may.

_Coûter les yeux de la tête_ = To cost a small fortune, a fearful lot of money.

Coutume

*_Une fois n’est pas coutume_ = It is only this once; One swallow does not make a summer; Once does not count.

Coutumier

_Il est coutumier du fait_ = It is not the first time he has done it.

Couture

_Ils étaient battus à plate couture_ = They were beaten hollow.

Couvercle

_Couvercle digne du chaudron_ = The lid matches the caldron; They are a precious pair; _Arcades ambo._

Couvert

_Mettez le couvert_ = Lay the cloth (for dinner).

_Mettez un couvert de plus_ = Put another knife and fork (for another guest); Lay for one more.

Cracher

_C’est son père tout craché_ (fam.) = He is the very spit (_or_, less fam., image) of his father.

_Il a craché en l’air et ça lui est retombé sur le nez_ (pop.) = He wished to do harm to another but it recoiled on himself.

_Il ne crache pas dessus_ = He does not despise it; He likes it very much.

Crémaillère

_Pendre la crémaillère_ = To give a house warming.

[Crémaillère = tige de fer suspendue au dessus du foyer d’une cheminée garnie de crans, qui permettent de la fixer plus ou moins haut, et terminée par un bout recourbé auquel on accroche une marmite. Compare Longfellow’s poem “The Hanging of the Crane.”]

Crever

_Le roi Jean a crevé les yeux à Arthur_ = King John caused Arthur’s eyes to be put out.

_Je ne voyais pas mon livre, cependant il me crevait les yeux_ = I did not see my book, yet it was staring me in the face (right under my nose).

Cri

_Il n’y a qu’un cri sur son compte_ = There is only one opinion about him.

_Elle poussa les hauts cris_ = She screamed at the top of her voice; She complained loudly.

_C’est le dernier cri_ = It is the last thing out.

Cribler

_Criblé de mitraille_ = Riddled with grape-shot.

_Criblé de dettes_ = Over head and ears in debt.

Crier

_Crier famine sur un tas de blé_ = To cry out for what one has in plenty.

_Plumer la poule sans la faire crier_ = To fleece a person adroitly, without his perceiving it.

Crin

_Un républicain à tous crins_ = Every inch a republican.

[Properly of a horse with flowing mane and tail, hence thorough, strong.]

Crochet

_Il a trente ans, et cependant il vit aux crochets de sa mère_ = He is thirty years old, and yet his mother has to keep him.

Croire

_Il s’en croit beaucoup_ = He thinks a great deal of himself.

_C’est à n’y pas croire_ = It is not to be believed; It is so extraordinary (incredible, preposterous) that we can hardly believe it.

_A l’en croire il a eu tous les prix_ = If he is to be believed he won all the prizes.

“_Et chacun croit fort aisément Ce qu’il craint et ce qu’il désire._” = The wish is father to the thought.

[LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, i. 6. Le loup et le renard.

Compare 2 _Henry IV._, iv. 5.

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt.”--CÆSAR, iii. 18.]

Croix

_Aller au devant de quelqu’un avec la croix et la bannière_ = To receive any one with great fuss and ceremony (often used ironically).

Croquer

_Votre enfant est gentil à croquer_ = Your child is a charming little fellow.

_Il croquait le marmot_ = He was dancing attendance; He was cooling his heels.