Il se moque de tout...
Qu’on lui ferme la porte au nez
Il reviendra par les fenêtres.”
Frederick the Great wrote to Voltaire (19th March 1771): “Chassez
les préjugés par la porte, ils reviendront par la fenêtre.”
Also: _Qui naquit chat court après les souris._]
*_Qui deux choses chasse, ni l’une ni l’autre ne prend_ = Between
two stools one falls to the ground.
_Ne chassez pas deux lièvres à la fois_ = Do not have too many
irons in the fire.
_Il chasse de race_ = He is a chip of the old block.
_Un clou chasse l’autre_ = One idea drives away another.
Chat
*_A bon chat bon rat_ = A Roland for an Oliver; Tit for tat;
Diamond cut diamond.
*_Chat échaudé craint l’eau froide_ = A burnt child dreads the
fire; Once bit, twice shy.
[The Jewish Rabbis said: “One bitten by a serpent is afraid of a
rope’s end.”
Hesiod says: “Even a fool after suffering gets him knowledge”;
the Italians: “Can scotato da l’acqua calda ha paura poi della
fredda” = A dog burnt by hot water afterwards fears cold.]
_J’appelle un chat un chat_ = I call a spade a spade. (See
_Appeler_.)
_Avoir un chat dans la gorge_ = To have phlegm (_or_, frog) in
the throat; To be hoarse.
*_Nous avons d’autres chats_ (or, _chiens_) _à fouetter_ = We
have other fish to fry.
_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. (See
_Verrier_.)
Château
_Faire des châteaux en Espagne_ = To build castles in the air.
[This expression is found from the thirteenth century. The
explanation that would ascribe it to the followers of the Duc
d’Anjou when he became Philippe V. of Spain must therefore be
incorrect. The phrases “Châteaux en Asie, en Albanie” were
also used, so that it comes to mean “to build castles in
foreign countries, where one is not,” and hence “to indulge in
illusions.”--LITTRÉ, _s.v._
“Chatiaus en Espagne.”--GUILLAUME DE LORRIS, _Roman de la Rose_,
l. 2530.
“De quoi sert-il de bastir des chasteaux en Espagne puisqu’il
faut habiter en France?” _St. François de Sales_, lettre 856.]
Chaud
_Pleurer à chaudes larmes_ = To cry bitterly.
*_Tomber de fièvre en chaud mal_ = To fall out of the frying-pan
into the fire.
_Cela ne me fait ni froid ni chaud_ = That is indifferent to me.
_Il a les pieds bien chauds_ = He is in very easy circumstances.
Chaudron
*_Petit chaudron, grandes oreilles_ = Little pitchers have long
ears.
Chauffer
_C’est un bain qui chauffe_ = There is a shower coming on.
[When it feels close, or when the sun is seen for a few minutes
through the clouds, it is looked upon as a sign of rain.]
_Ce n’est pas pour vous que le four chauffe_ = All these
preparations are not for you.
Chausser
_Les cordonniers sont les plus mal chaussés_ = The shoemaker’s
wife goes the worst shod.
Chauve
_Chauve comme mon genou_ (fam.) = As bald as a coot, as a
billiard ball.
Chef
_Elle a une grande fortune de son chef_ = She has a large fortune
in her own right.
_Faire une chose de son chef_ = To do a thing on one’s own
responsibility.
Chemin
_Chemin faisant_ = On the way.
_Le chemin de velours_ = The primrose path.
_En tout pays il y a une lieue de mauvais chemin_ = (fig.) In
every enterprise difficulties have to be encountered.
_Il ne faut pas y aller par quatre chemins_ = You must not beat
about the bush; You must go straight to the point; You must not
mince matters; It’s no good shilly-shallying.
*_Qui trop se hâte reste en chemin_ = The more haste, the less
speed; Slow and sure wins the race. (See _Hâte_.)
*_Le chemin le plus long est souvent le plus court_ = The longest
way round often proves to be the shortest; A short cut may be a
very long way home.
_Prendre le chemin de l’école_ (or, _des écoliers_) = To take the
longest way (a roundabout way).
*_À chemin battu il ne croît pas d’herbe_ = (fig.) There is no
profit in an affair in which many are engaged.
_Se frayer un chemin avec les coudes_ = To elbow one’s way
through a crowd.
Cheminée
_Il faut faire une croix à la cheminée_ = “We must chalk it up”
(of an event that seldom happens.)
_Sous le manteau de la cheminée_ = Secretly, _sub rosa_.
Cheval
*_À cheval donné on ne regarde pas à la bride_ (or, _à la dent_)
= One does not look a gift-horse in the mouth.
[Late Latin: “Si quis det mannos, ne quaere in dentibus annos.”]
_On loge à pied et à cheval_ = Good entertainment (accommodation)
for man and beast.
_L’œil du maître engraisse le cheval_ = Matters prosper under the
master’s eye.
[“Il n’est pour voir que l’œil du maître.”
LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, iv. 21.]
_Il est aisé d’aller à pied quand on tient son cheval par la
bride_ = It is easy to stoop from state when that state can be
resumed at will.
_Il n’est si bon cheval qui ne bronche_ = The best horse may
stumble; Accidents will happen.
[Also: _Il n’est si bon charretier qui ne verse._]
_Il a changé son cheval borgne contre un aveugle_ = He has
changed for the worse; He has made a bad bargain.
_Monter sur ses grands chevaux_ = To ride the high horse.
[A reference to the big war horses used by knights in battle.]
_Je lui ai écrit une lettre à cheval_ = I wrote him a severe
letter.
_Il est toujours à cheval sur l’étiquette_ = He is a stickler for
etiquette.
_Il est bon cheval de trompette_ = He is not easily dismayed.
_Un cheval à deux fins_ = A horse for riding or driving.
_J’ai une fièvre de cheval_ = I am in a high fever.
Chevalier
_Un chevalier d’industrie_ = A swindler, a man who lives by his
wits.
Cheveux
_Cette comparaison est tirée par les cheveux_ = That comparison
is somewhat far-fetched.
_On ne peut prendre aux cheveux un homme rasé_ = One cannot get
blood from a stone. (See _Huile_.)
_En cheveux_ (of a woman) = Bareheaded.
[Of a man: _tête nue_.]
_Les cheveux en brosse_ = Hair cut short (standing up like the
bristles of a brush).
_Prendre l’occasion aux cheveux_ = To take time by the forelock.
(See _Balle_.)
_Avoir mal aux cheveux_ (fam.) = To have a head (_i.e._ a
head-ache in the morning after a drinking bout.)
Cheville
_Vous ne lui allez pas à la cheville_ = You are a pigmy compared
with him; You are no match for him at all.
_La cheville ouvrière_ = The mainspring, pivot.
Chèvre
*_Ménager la chèvre et le chou_ = To run with the hare and hunt
with the hounds.
[The French refers to the tale of the man in charge of a wolf, a
goat, and a cabbage. He came to a river which he had to cross;
but the ferry-boat was so small that he could only take one of
his charges with him. His difficulty was to get them across, for
if he left the wolf and goat together, the wolf would eat the
goat; and if he left the goat with the cabbage the goat would eat
it.]
*_Où la chèvre est attachée il faut qu’elle broute_ = One must
put up with the inconveniences of one’s position if one can get
nothing better; We must not expect more from life than life can
give us.
Chez
*_Il n’y a pas de petit chez soi_ = There is no place like home;
Home is home, be it ever so humble; East, west, home is best.
[Also: _Un petit chez soi vaut mieux qu’un grand chez les autres._
“My house, my house, though thou art small,
Thou art to me the Escuriall.”
GEORGE HERBERT, _Jacula Prudentium_.]
Chien
_C’est le chien de Jean de Nivelle, il s’enfuit quand on
l’appelle_ = The more you call him, the more he runs away, like
John de Nivelle’s dog.
[Jean de Nivelle was the eldest son of Jean II., Duc de
Montmorency, and was born about 1423. Having been summoned
to appear before the Judges at Paris for having espoused the
cause of the Duke of Burgundy against the wishes of the king,
Louis XI., and of his father, who disinherited him, he fled to
Flanders, where his wife had property. He therefore became an
object of scorn to the people for refusing to answer the summons
of his king, and they called him _chien_: the saying ought to
run: _C’est_ CE _chien de Jean de Nivelle_. La Fontaine evidently
thought the phrase referred to a real dog when he wrote:--
“Une traîtresse voix bien souvent vous appelle,
Ne vous pressez donc nullement,
Ce n’était pas un sot, non, non et croyez m’en.
Que le chien de Jean de Nivelle.”
Compare the Italian:--
Far come il can d’Arlotto que chiamoto se la batte.]
*_Qui veut noyer son chien l’accuse de la rage_ = Give your dog a
bad name and hang him.
[Quos Jupiter vult perdere prius dementat.]
_Je jette ma langue aux chiens_ = I give it up (of riddles, etc.).
[Also: _Je donne ma langue aux chats._]
_Nous sommes sortis entre chien et loup_ = We went out at dusk,
between the lights.
[_i.e._ when you could easily mistake a wolf for a dog; or, as
others say, between the time when the watch-dog is let loose and
the time when the wolf comes out of the wood.]
_Un chien regarde bien un évêque_ = A cat may look at a king.
_Il fait un chien de temps_ (or, _un temps de chien_) (fam.) = It
is wretched weather.
_C’est saint Roch et son chien que ces deux personnes-là_ = These
two persons are inseparable.
*_Bon chien chasse de race_ = Like sire, like son; Cat after kind.
_C’est le chien du jardinier qui ne mange pas de choux et n’en
laisse pas manger aux autres_ = He is a dog in the manger.
_Écorcher son chien pour en avoir la peau_ = To sacrifice
something important for a small return.
_Chien qui aboie ne mord pas_ = His bark is worse than his bite.
[Also: _Tel fiert qui ne tue pas_, and _Chat miauleur ne fut
jamais bon chasseur, non plus qu’homme sage caqueteur_.]
_Autant vaut être mordu d’un chien que d’une chienne_ = As well
be hanged for a sheep as a lamb; What is the use of choosing
between two evils?
_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.
_Se regarder en chiens de faïence_ = To look at one another
without talking (like stuck pigs).
Chiffon
_Nous causions chiffons_ (of women) = We were chattering about
dress.
Chiffonner
_Elle a une petite mine chiffonnée_ = She has irregular features,
but her expression is pleasing.
Chômer
*_Chômer les fêtes avant qu’elles ne soient venues_ = To count
one’s chickens before they are hatched.
[“Laissons venir la fête avant que la chômer.”
MOLIÈRE, _Le Dépit Amoureux_, i. 1.]
_C’est un saint qu’on ne chôme point_ = He is in no great repute.
[“L’honneur est un vieux saint que l’on ne chôme plus.”
RÉGNIER, _Satires_, xiii.]
Chose
_Dites bien des choses de ma part à votre frère_ = Remember me
kindly to your brother.
_Rester tout chose_ = To be confused.
_Il était tout chose_ = He was out of sorts; out of spirits; cast
down.
_Monsieur Chose_ (or, _Machin_) = “Mr. What’s-his-name.”
Chou
_On l’envoya planter ses choux_ = He was dismissed.
_Aller planter ses choux_ (or, _garder les dindons_) = To retire
into the country.
_Chou pour chou_ = Taking one thing with another.
[The whole expression is: _Chou pour chou, Aubervilliers vaut
bien Paris_ = Aubervilliers is as good as Paris, if it come to
counting cabbages, _i.e._, each thing has its particular merits.
Aubervilliers is a suburb of Paris, noted for its market gardens.]
_Bête comme (un) chou (un pot, une cruche, une oie)_ =
As stupid as an owl.
_Mon petit chou_ = My little darling.
[This has nothing to do with a cabbage, but with a kind of puff
pastry filled with cream, in the shape of a cabbage.]
_Faire ses choux gras d’une chose_ = To enjoy a thing that others
despise.
Ciel
_Remuer ciel et terre_ = To move heaven and earth; To leave no
stone unturned.
Circuler
_Circulez, Messieurs!_ = Move on, please! (cry of policemen).
Clair
_Parler clair et net_ = To speak plainly.
_Je n’y vois pas clair_ = I cannot see, it is too dark.
_Clair comme le jour_ (or, _comme le soleil en plein midi_) = As
plain as a pikestaff; As clear as noonday.
Classe
_À la rentrée des classes_ = When school reopens.
Clef
_Mettre la clef sous la porte_ = To run away from one’s
creditors; “To bolt.”
_La clef dont on se sert est toujours claire_ = One does not get
rusty in what one does every day.
Clerc
_Un pas de clerc_ = A blunder; A false step.
_Il ne faut pas parler latin devant les clercs_ = Do not correct
a specialist on his subject.
[“Les plus grands clercs ne sont pas les plus fins.”
RÉGNIER, _Satires_, iii.]
Cliché
_Ses plaisanteries ne sont que des clichés_ = His jokes are
stereotyped.
Clin
_En un clin d’œil_ = In a twinkling.
Cloche
*_Qui n’entend qu’une cloche n’entend qu’un son_ = One should
hear both sides of a question.
_Il est temps de fondre la cloche_ = The time for action has
arrived.
_Déménager à la cloche de bois_ (fam.) = To shoot the moon; To
leave a house without paying one’s rent or one’s creditors.
Clocher (subst.)
_Il n’a jamais perdu son clocher de vue_ = He has never been out
of his parish.
_Il faut placer le clocher au milieu du village_ = What is meant
for the benefit of all should be within reach of all.
[_e.g._ a lamp in the middle of the table.]
_Avoir la maladie du clocher_ = To be homesick.
[Also more often: _Avoir le mal du pays._]
Clocher (verb)
_Ce n’est pas mal, mais il y a encore quelque chose qui cloche_ =
It is not bad, but there is still something wrong.
*_Toute comparaison cloche_ [or, _pèche_] = Comparisons are
odious.
Clou
_Cela ne vaut pas un clou à soufflet_ = That is not worth a straw
(lit. a tin-tack).
_Je lui ai rivé son clou_ (pop.) = I shut his mouth; That was a
poser for him.
[“Vous avez fort bien fait de lui river son clou.” REGNARD, _Le
Distrait_, iv. 7.]
_Un clou chasse l’autre_ = One idea drives away another.
_Le clou de l’Exposition_ = The chief attraction of the
Exhibition.
Cocagne
_C’est un pays de cocagne_ = It is a land flowing with milk and
honey.
[“Paris est pour le riche un pays de cocagne;
Sans sortir de la ville il trouve la campagne.”
BOILEAU, _Satires_, vi.]
_Le mât de cocagne_ = The greasy pole.
Coche
_C’est la mouche du coche_ = He is a regular busybody.
[LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, vii. 9, imitated from Æsop.]
Cochon
_Nous n’avons pas gardé les cochons ensemble_ (pop.) = We have
not been dragged up together.
[The reply to a man who presumes upon acquaintance, and needs
putting down.]
Cœur
_À contre cœur_ = Reluctantly.
_À cœur joie_ = To one’s heart’s content.
_De gaieté de cœur_ = Out of sheer wantonness.
_Il l’a fait de bon cœur_ = He did it willingly.
_Dîner par cœur_ = To go without a dinner; To dine with Duke
Humphrey.
[Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, son of Henry IV., was renowned for
his hospitality. At his death it was reported that he would have
a monument in S. Paul’s, but he was buried at S. Alban’s Abbey.
S. Paul’s was at that time the common lounge of the town, and
when the promenaders left for dinner, those who had no dinner
to go to, used to say they would stay behind and look for the
monument of the Good Duke. A similar saying was, “To sup with Sir
Thomas Gresham,” the Exchange, built by him, being a place of
resort.]
_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.
_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.