Part 7

[Littré gives as the explanation of this obscure expression that artists while waiting for their patrons used to draw pictures of little monkeys (_marmot_) in the vestibule. Others assert that in the antechambers of the rich were to be found dishes of cakes in the form of little monkeys, which visitors used to eat (_croquer_) whilst waiting. But both explanations need confirmation.]

Cru

_S’agenouiller à cru_ = To kneel on the bare ground, on the cold stone (without a hassock or carpet).

[Literally, to kneel on the bare knee, but the quality has passed from the person to the object.]

_C’est de son cru_ = That is of his own creation.

Cruche

_C’est une vraie cruche_ (fam.) = She is a silly goose.

Cuir

_Pester entre cuir et chair_ (fam.) = To fume inwardly.

_Faire des cuirs_ = To drop one’s h’s.

[Really these are faults made by uneducated French people in pronunciation, consisting in sounding _s_ for _t_, or _vice versa_, when running their words together or in pronouncing these letters when they do not occur, as: _ils étaient_ z_ici_, for _ils étaient ici_.]

Cuirasse

_Les observations glissent sur lui comme sur une cuirasse_ = Blame slips off him as water off a duck’s back.

Cuire

_Vous viendrez cuire à mon four_ = Some day you will need my assistance.

_Il vous en cuira_ = You will smart for it.

_Avoir son pain cuit_ = To have one’s bread and cheese, a competency.

Culbute

*_Au bout du fossé la culbute_ = At the end of the run comes the fall.

[This expression refers to those who, from carelessness or wrong-headedness, are resigned to the consequences of their bad conduct.]

Cuver

_Cuver son vin_ = To sleep oneself sober.

D.

Dame

_Une grande dame de par le monde_ = A great lady in the eyes of the world.

[This should be written _Une grande dame de la part du monde_. Littré points out that the error in spelling _par_ for _part_ is a very old one; it would appear to date from the thirteenth century from the examples he quotes. _De par le monde_ must be derived from _de parte mundi_, as _de per_ was never used.]

Damer

_Damer le pion à quelqu’un_ = To outwit some one.

[From the game of draughts, _dame_ = a king, _pion_ = a man.]

Damner

_Cet homme est son âme damnée_ = That man does his dirty work for him, is his tool.

[The man who does the dirty work knows he is damning his soul by doing it, but does it all the same for the money or interest it brings him.]

Danger

_Il n’y a pas de danger_ = No fear of that; Don’t you fret!

Danser

_Il ne sait sur quel pied danser_ = He does not know which way to turn.

_Il en dansera en l’air_ = He will swing for it.

_Danser devant le buffet_ = To have nothing to eat.

Dater

_Cet événement date de loin_ = That event happened long ago.

Dé

_A vous le dé_ = It is your turn to play (at dice). [See _Avoir_.]

_Ne nous flattez pas le dé_ = Speak out without any reserve.

[_Flatter le dé_ is to let the dice slide gently out of the box.]

“_Car madame à jaser tient le dé tout le jour_” = Madame engrosses the conversation all day long. [MOLIÈRE, _Tartufe_, i. 1.]

Débandade

_Ils laissèrent tout à la débandade_ = They left all at sixes and sevens, in confusion.

_Fuir à la débandade_ = To fly helter-skelter.

Débit

_Le ministre lui a accordé un débit de tabac_ = The minister has given him a license to sell tobacco.

[The sale of tobacco, snuff, gunpowder, and cards is a Government monopoly in France.]

Debout

*_Mieux vaut goujat debout qu’empereur enterré_ = “A living dog is better than a dead lion.”--Ecclesiastes ix. 4.

[LA FONTAINE, _La Matrone d’Éphèse_. _Goujat_ first meant a soldier’s servant (as here), now it means a hodman, or bricklayer’s apprentice, hence a vulgar, coarse fellow, a bungler.]

_Cela ne tient pas debout_ = That won’t hold water.

Débrider

_Il a écrit vingt pages sans débrider_ = He has written twenty pages at a stretch.

Déchausser

_Il ne faut pas se déchausser pour manger cela_ = It is not worth while sitting down to eat that.

[The ancients were in the habit of reclining bare-foot at their meals.]

Décoiffer

*_Décoiffer (Découvrir) St. Pierre pour coiffer St. Paul_ = To rob Peter to pay Paul.

Découvrir

_On a découvert le pot aux roses_ = They have discovered the mystery, the secret.

_Être à découvert_ = To be unprotected, undisguised.

Décrocher

_Un décrochez-moi-ça_ (pop.) = A reach-me-down (second-hand garment).

Dedans

_Elle est tout en dedans_ = She is not communicative.

_On l’a mis dedans_ (fam.) = 1. They took him in (_i.e._ they deceived him). 2. They ran him in (_i.e._ they put him in prison).

[The second meaning is more often translated: “On l’a coffré.”]

_Comme un nigaud, j’ai donné dedans_ = Like a goose, I fell into the trap.

_Je ne sais si je suis dedans ou dehors_ = I do not know which side to take; I do not know whether I have made a profit or not.

Défaire

_Il a le visage défait_ = He has a pale, worn-out look.

Défaite

_Cette marchandise est d’une bonne défaite_ = These goods have a quick sale.

Défaut

_Attaquez-le au défaut de la cuirasse_ = Attack him on his weak point.

Défense

_Défense d’afficher_ = Stick no bills.

_Défense d’entrer_ = No admittance.

_Défense d’entrer sous peine d’amende_ = Trespassers will be prosecuted.

Dégainer

_Être brave jusqu’au dégainer_ = To be brave until it come to blows.

[_Dégainer_ = to unsheathe a sword.]

Dégourdir

_Ils auront à se dégourdir ou à déguerpir_ = They will either have to wake up or to clear out.

_Se dégourdir les jambes_ = To stretch one’s legs; To go out for a run.

Dégoûter

_Faire le dégoûté_ = To be fastidious, dainty.

_Si j’avais la fortune de Rothschild, je serais content._--_Vous n’êtes pas dégoûté!_ = If I had Rothschild’s fortune I should be satisfied.--I should rather think so!

Dehors

_Sauver le dehors_ = To save appearances.

_Il n’a pas de dehors_ = His personal appearance is not prepossessing; He looks nobody.

Délit

_En flagrant délit_ = In the very act; red-handed.

[Lat. _In flagrante delicto._]

Déloger

_Déloger sans tambour ni trompette_ = To leave without beat of drum.

Demain

_Avec lui c’est toujours demain_ = He always procrastinates.

Demandeur

*_A beau demandeur beau refuseur_ = Diamond cut diamond.

[_i.e._ “If you are not ashamed to ask, I am not ashamed to refuse.”]

Démanger

_La langue lui démange_ = He longs to speak; He is dying to put in a word.

Denier

_Cet homme n’a pas un denier vaillant_ = That man is not worth a brass farthing.

_Rendre compte à livres, sous et deniers_ = To give an account to the uttermost farthing.

Dent

_J’ai les dents bien longues aujourd’hui_ = I am very hungry to-day.

_Je suis sur les dents_ = I am done up.

_J’ai une dent contre lui_ = I have a grudge against him.

[Also: _Je lui garde un chien de ma chienne_ (pop.).]

_Autant prendre la lune avec les dents_ = You might just as well try and scale the moon.

_Manger du bout des dents_ = To eat without an appetite; To eat daintily.

[“Dente superbo.”--HORACE, _Satires_, ii. 6, 87. Compare: _rire du bout des dents_.]

_Déchirer quelqu’un à belles dents_ = To tear a person’s reputation to shreds.

[Also more forcibly: _Passer quelqu’un à tabac._]

Dépense

*_Les folles dépenses refroidissent la cuisine_ = Wilful waste makes woeful want.

Déplaire

_Qu’il ne vous en déplaise_ = With your permission; By your leave; If you’ll allow me; An it please you.

[Sometimes shortened to: _Ne vous déplaise_, as in LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, i. 1. The sense is often ironical, and means, “whether you like it or not.”]

Dépourvu

_Au dépourvu_ = Unprepared.

Dératé

_Courir comme un dératé_ = To go like a shot; To run like mad.

[_Rate_=spleen. The Greeks believed that men and animals ran faster if their spleen was removed. “On sait que l’extirpation de la rate se pratiquait chez les coureurs d’antiquité pour éviter l’essoufflement.”--COUVREUR, _Les Merveilles du Corps humain_. Comp. PLINY, xxvi. 13.]

Dernier

_Une représentation du dernier vulgaire_ = A display vulgar to the last degree; A very low show.

[“Ce que vous dites là est du dernier bourgeois.” MOLIÈRE, _Les Précieuses Ridicules_, sc. 5.]

Désirer

*_Plus on désire une chose, plus elle se fait attendre_ = A watched pot never boils.

_Cela laisse à désirer_ = There is room for improvement.

Désorienter

_Je suis désorienté_ = 1. I am disconcerted. 2. I am out of my element; I do not feel at home; I have lost my bearings.

Desserrer

_Je n’ai pas desserré les dents_ = I never opened my lips.

Dessus

_Par dessus le marché_ = Into the bargain; Over and above.

_Il n’y a rien au dessus de cela_ = That beats everything.

_Sens dessus dessous_ = All upside down; Topsy-turvy.

_Ils ont eu le dessus_ = They got the best of it.

[_Avoir le dessous_ = to get the worst of it.]

_Prendre le dessus_ = To gain the upper hand.

_J’en ai par dessus la tête_ = I am worried out of my life with it.

_Il le fera par dessus l’épaule_ = He will never do it.

[Comp. “over the left,” in schoolboy slang.]

_Il m’a regardé par dessus l’épaule_ = He looked at me contemptuously.

Destinée

_On n’échappe pas à sa destinée_ = He that is born to be hanged will never be drowned.

Détente

_Il est dur à la détente_ = (fig.) He is close-fisted, a miser.

Déterrer

_Il a l’air d’un déterré_ = He looks as pale as death, as pale as a ghost.

Détour

_Faire un détour_ = To go a roundabout way.

_Il est sans détour_ = He is straightforward.

Dette

_Il est criblé de dettes_ = He is head over ears in debt.

[For _criblé_ one finds _accablé_, _perdu_, or _abîmé_.]

_Des dettes criardes_ = Small debts to trades-people or workmen (who are continually asking for their money).

Deuil

_J’en ai fait mon deuil_ = I have resigned myself to the loss of it.

Deux

_Maintenant, à nous deux!_ = Now I will settle with you; Now is the time for a private explanation; Now to business.

*_Deux s’amusent, trois s’embêtent_ (fam.) = Two’s company, three’s none.

_Tous les deux jours_; _De deux jours l’un_ = Every other day.

_Piquer des deux_ = To spur on one’s horse; To rush forward.

Devant

*_Les premiers vont devant_ = First come, first served.

_Il faut prendre les devants_ = One must be first in the field.

_Allons au-devant de lui_ = Let us go and meet him.

Dévider

_Mathurin dévide le jars_ (pop.) = Jack Tar is spinning a yarn.

Devoir

_Il doit au tiers et au quart (à Jean et à Paul)_ = He owes money to everybody.

_Il doit plus d’argent qu’il n’est gros_ = He owes more money than he can pay.

*_Qui a terme ne doit rien_ = No one need pay before a debt is due.

*_Qui ne doit rien n’a rien à craindre_ = Out of debt, out of danger.

*_A chacun son dû_ = Give the devil his due; Every man is worth his hire.

*_Fais ce que dois, advienne que pourra_ = Do your duty, come what may.

_Dussé-je en mourir_ = Were I to die for it.

_Chose convenue, chose due_ = A promise must be kept.

Dévolu

_J’ai jeté mon dévolu sur cela_ = I have fixed my choice upon that.

Dévotion

_Il n’est de dévotion que de jeune prêtre_ = Enthusiasm wears out in time; New brooms sweep clean. (See _Balai_.)

Diable

_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.

*_Il n’est pas si diable qu’il est noir_ = The devil is not as black as he is painted.

[Or: _Le diable n’est pas si noir qu’il en a l’air._]

_Se démener comme un diable dans un bénitier_ = To rush about half-mad.

_Loger le diable dans sa bourse_ = To be penniless. (See _Bourse_.)

[“Et logeant le diable en sa bourse, C’est à dire, n’y logeant rien.” LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, ix. 16.]

_Quand le diable fut vieux il se fit ermite_ = The devil was sick, the devil a monk would be, The devil was well, the devil a monk was he!

[Compare the Italian:

Passata il punto, gabbato il santo = The peril past, the saint mocked.

Also: The river past and God forgotten.]

_Aller au diable Vauvert_ (corrupted into _au vert_) = To go very far away, a devil of a way; To disappear.

[The Carthusians having been given a large building at Gentilly by St. Louis, coveted the abandoned mansion of Vauvert (= _vallon vert_), which they could see from their windows. But to ask for it without a valid reason was to court refusal. So they caused it to be haunted by evil spirits, and the king was soon glad to get rid of this uncanny possession. It is needless to add that the spirits were exorcised directly the monks took possession. It stood in the _rue de Vauvert_, beyond the Luxembourg, which was until lately called the _rue d’Enfer_. As this was then a remote suburb of Paris, the expression was equivalent to going to the end of the town, and thus, very far off.]

_C’est là le diable_ (or, _le hic_) = There is the rub.

_Elle a la beauté du diable_ = All her beauty consists in her youth and freshness.

_Fait à la diable_ (i.e. _à la manière du diable_) = Done anyhow, in a slipshod way.

Dieu

_À Dieu ne plaise!_ = God forbid!

_Jurer ses grands dieux_ = To affirm vehemently; To swear by all that one holds sacred.

Différer

*_Ce qui est différé n’est pas perdu_ = All is not lost that is delayed.

[German: Aufgeschoben ist nicht aufgehoben.]

Diligence

_Voyager par la diligence d’Adam_ = To travel on shanks’ nag.

[German: Auf Schusters Rappen.]

Dindon

_C’est un franc dindon_ = He is a thorough goose.

_Être le dindon de la farce_ = To be the dupe.

Dire

_Pour tout dire_ = In a word.

_C’est tout dire_ = That is saying all, enough.

[_e.g._ “Cet homme est-il honnête?”--“Je lui ai prêté 500 fr. il y a deux ans et il n’a jamais voulu me rendre un sou. C’est tout dire.”]

_Pour ainsi dire_ = So to speak.

_Je ne vous dis que ça_ = I cannot tell you any more, but it is a fact.

[This can also be translated: “I can tell you!” as in “Je me suis bien amusé, je ne vous dis que ça!”]

_Pour mieux dire_ = Or rather.

_Je me le suis tenu pour dit_ = I took it for granted.

_Soit dit entre nous_ = Quite between ourselves.

_Cela est bon à dire, mais..._ = That is all very well for a speech, but...; That is all very fine, but...

_Il est sensible au qu’en dira-t-on_ = He is sensitive to public opinion; He is easily influenced by what people say about him, by what Mrs. Grundy will say.

_Il était dit que j’arriverais trop tard_ = The Fates had willed that I should come too late.

_Quand je vous le disais!_ (or, _Je vous l’avais bien dit!_) = I told you so!

_Ah! vous m’en direz tant!_ = 1. Well, that alters the case! 2. Ah! now I understand, why did you not say so at first? 3. There’s no going against such a reason as that.

[This expression has almost as many meanings as _n’est-ce pas_. The above are a few of them. It is often used ironically.]

_A qui le dites-vous?_ = Am I not perfectly aware of it? Don’t I know it?

_Au dire de tout le monde_ = According to what everybody says; According to the general opinion.

_Je l’irai dire à Rome_ = It is so unlikely, that if it happens I will undertake a pilgrimage to Rome; I’ll eat my hat.

[Comp. RACINE, _Épigramme III. Sur Andromaque_.]

_Cela ne me dit rien_ = That has no effect upon me; I have no desire for it.

Discrétion

_On nous donna du vin à discrétion_ = They gave us as much wine as we wanted (wine _ad libitum_).

Distance

_La distance grandit tout prestige_ =

“’Tis distance lends enchantment to the view, And robes the mountain in its azure hue.” [CAMPBELL, _Pleasures of Hope_, i. 7.]

Doigt

_Je lui ai donné sur les doigts_ = I rapped his knuckles (lit. and fig.).

_Il y met les quatre doigts et le pouce_ = (lit.) He eats greedily; (fig.) He acts clumsily.

_Ils sont comme les deux doigts de la main_ = They are hand and glove together, inseparable.

_Vous avez mis le doigt dessus_ = You have hit the right nail on the head; You have touched the spot.

_Mon petit doigt me l’a dit_ = A little bird told me so.

_Il était à deux doigts de la mort_ = He was at death’s door, within an ace of death.

_Se fourrer le doigt dans l’œil jusqu’au coude_ (pop.) = To deceive oneself most blindly; To put one’s foot in it.

_Savoir sur le bout du doigt_ = To know perfectly; To have at one’s finger-ends.

_Il lui obéit au doigt et à l’œil_ = He is at his beck and call.

_Un doigt de vin_ (fam.) = A toothful of wine.

Dommage

_C’est dommage!_ = What a pity.

Donner

_Ils lui en ont donné tout du long de l’aune_ = They beat him black and blue.

_Je vous le donne en dix_ = I bet you ten to one you will not guess it.

*_Qui donne tôt donne deux fois_ = He gives twice who gives in a trice.

[“Bis dat qui celeriter dat.”--PUBLIUS SYRUS. _Cito_, which is now used instead of _celeriter_, appears to be a later alteration.]

_Le régiment a donné_ = The regiment has engaged.

_On ne lui donnerait pas quarante ans_ = You would not take him for forty.

_On t’en donnera des tabliers propres pour les salir_ = You ask too much.

_J’ai passé quinze jours à Paris et je m’en suis donné_ = I spent a fortnight in Paris, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

[This idiom implies movement, excitement, &c.]

Dormir

_Dormir sur les deux oreilles_ = (lit.) To sleep soundly; (fig.) To have no cause for anxiety.

_Dormir comme une marmotte, comme un sabot, comme une souche, les_ (or, _à_) _poings fermés_ = To sleep like a top, like a log.

_Dormir la grasse matinée_ = To lie late in bed.

_Il nous a dit des contes à dormir debout_ = He told us tedious, nonsensical tales, old wives’ tales.

[“Γραῶν ὕθλος.”--PLATO, _Rep._ 350 E. “Aniles fabellae.”--CICERO.]

*_Qui dort dîne_ = Sleeping is as good as eating.

*_Qui a renommée de se lever matin peut dormir jusqu’à midi_ = A good reputation covers a multitude of sins.

_Dormir en gendarme_ = To sleep with one eye open.

Dos

*_Il ne se laisse pas manger la laine sur le dos_ = He is not the man to let himself be made a fool of; He will not allow people to take the food out of his mouth; He will not tamely submit to any imposition.

_Le juge les a renvoyés dos à dos_ = The judge nonsuited them both.

_Il fait le gros dos_ = He gives himself airs.

_En dos d’âne_ = Sloping on both sides, sharp-ridged.

_Je me suis mis le juge à dos_ = I have made an enemy of the judge.

_J’en ai plein le dos_ (pop.) = I am sick and tired of it.

_Il a bon dos_ = His back is broad enough to stand a good deal.

Double

_C’est un double coquin_ = He is a thorough rascal.

_C’est un homme double_ = He is a double-faced man.

Douceur

*_Plus fait douceur que violence_ = Kindness does more than harshness; More flies are caught with honey than with vinegar. [LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, vi. 3.]

_Il faudra le prendre en douceur_ = You must tackle him gently.

Doute

_Cela ne fait aucun doute_ = There is no doubt about it.

_Dans le doute abstiens-toi_ = When in doubt, do nothing.

Douter

_Je ne me doutais de rien_ = I did not suspect anything.

_Je m’en doutais_ = I thought so.

Douzaine

_C’est un poète comme on en trouve à la douzaine_ = He is a very minor poet. [RÉGNIER, _Sat._ iv.]

Dragée

_Tenir la dragée haute à quelqu’un_ = To make a person pay well (_or_, wait a long time) for what he desires.

Dragon

_Cette femme est un vrai dragon_ = 1. That woman is a virago. 2. That woman is very masculine (in appearance and manners).

Drap

_Je suis dans de beaux draps_ = I am in a fine mess, in a pretty pickle.

_Il voudrait avoir le drap et l’argent_ = He would like to have his cake and eat it too.

Drapeau

_Elle a déjà un fils sous les drapeaux_ = She already has a son in the army.

Droit

_Remettez ceci à qui de droit_ = Give this to the proper person, to the person who has a right to it.

_Il fera droit à votre demande_ = He will accede to your request.

_Il fait son droit_ = He is studying for the bar.

Drôle

_C’est un drôle de corps_ = He is a queer fish.

_C’est un mauvais drôle_ = He is a downright scamp.

Dru

_Frapper fort et dru_ = To strike with might and main.

E.

Eau

*_Il n’est pire eau que l’eau qui dort_ = Still waters run deep.

*_C’est porter de l’eau à la mer_ (or, _rivière_) = It is carrying coals to Newcastle.

[The Greek equivalent was Γλαῦκας εἰς Αθήνας = Owls to Athens; the Hebrew “Enchantments to Egypt,” and the Late Latin “Indulgences to Rome.”]

_Cet homme aime à pêcher en eau trouble_ = That man likes fishing in troubled waters.

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

_Tout va à vau l’eau_ = All is going to wreck and ruin.

[_A vau l’eau_ = With the current.]

_Pendant l’inondation le toit de cette maison était à fleur d’eau_ = During the flood the top of that house was on a level with the water.

_C’est un donneur d’eau bénite de cour_ = He makes empty promises.

_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.]

_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.

_Mettre de l’eau dans son vin_ = (fig.) To come down a peg.

*_L’eau qui tombe goutte à goutte cave la pierre_ = Dropping water will wear away a stone.

[Ovid begins a line with “Gutta cavat lapidem” an abbreviation of the proverb “Gutta cavat lapidem non vi sed saepe cadendo.”

“Stillicidi casus lapidem cavat.”--LUCRETIUS, i. 313.]

*_Une goutte d’eau suffit pour faire déborder un vase plein_ = The last straw breaks the camel’s back.

_Nager entre deux eaux_ = (lit.) To swim under water; (fig.) To run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.

_Faire eau_ (of boats) = To spring a leak.

_Faire de l’eau_ (of boats) = To take in fresh water.

_Laissez couler l’eau_ = Do not be anxious about what cannot be helped; Don’t cry over spilt milk.

_Cela s’en est allé en eau de boudin_ = That collapsed utterly, came to nothing.

[The more correct form is _s’en aller en aune de boudin_, alluding to Perrault’s tale of _Les Souhaits Ridicules_.]

Échapper

_Ce mot m’est échappé_ = That word escaped me inadvertently (_i.e._, I did not mean to say it).

_Ce mot m’a échappé_ = I have forgotten that word.

Échéant

_Le cas échéant_ = Should such a thing happen; If such should be the case.

Échelle

_Faire la courte échelle à quelqu’un_ = To allow some one to climb on one’s shoulders to scale a height; To give a lift to some one.

_Après lui il faut tirer l’échelle_ = One cannot do better than he has (_or_, does); He beats the record, takes the cake.

École

_Faire l’école buissonnière_ = To play truant.

_Faire une école_ = To make a blunder.

_Faire école_ = To found (_or_, to be a leader of) a school of art, literature, music, &c.

Écolier

_Faire un tour d’écolier_ = To play a schoolboy trick.