of people (are you serious) in speaking thus? Do you take people
for a pack of fools?
_Si vous obtenez cinq francs, c’est le bout du monde_ = If you
get five francs, it is the utmost; You will get five francs at
the very outside.
_Si elle a trente ans c’est tout le bout du monde_ = She may be
thirty at the very outside.
_On ne peut contenter tout le monde et son père_ = One cannot
satisfy everybody, all the world and his wife.
[“Parbleu, dit le meunier, est bien fou du cerveau
Qui prétend contenter tout le monde et son père.”
LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, iii. 1.]
Monnaie
_Il lui a rendu la monnaie de sa pièce_ = He paid him back in his
own coin.
Mont
_Par monts et par vaux_ = Up hill and down dale.
Montée
_À grande montée grande descente_ = The higher the rise, the
greater the fall; He who climbs too high is near a fall.
[“Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself.”
SHAKESPEARE, _Macbeth_, i. 7.
Also: _La Roche Tarpéienne est près du Capitole._]
Montrer
_Montrer le soleil avec un flambeau_ = To paint the lily; To hold
a farthing rushlight to the sun.
Mordre
_Se mordre les doigts_ = To repent what one has done.
_Se mordre la langue_ = To repent what one has said.
Mort
_Il est mort de sa belle mort_ = He died a natural death.
_Il est à l’article de la mort_ = He is at the point of death, at
death’s door.
_Quand on compte sur les souliers d’un mort on risque de marcher
pieds nus_ = It’s an ill thing to wait for dead men’s shoes; He
pulls with a long rope that waits for another’s death.
[Also: _Qui s’attend à l’écuelle d’autrui risque fort de mal
dîner._]
_Avoir la mort dans l’âme_ = To be grieved to death; To be
overwhelmed with grief.
Morveux
*_Qui se sent morveux se mouche_ (pop.) = If the cap fits, wear
it. (See _Galeux_.)
Mot
_Ils en sont venus aux gros mots_ = They came to high words.
*_Qui ne dit mot consent_ = Silence gives consent.
_Il a toujours le mot pour rire_ = He is ever ready with a joke;
He is full of fun.
_Il a 40,000 francs de rente au bas mot_ = He has £1600 a year at
the very least.
*_À bon entendeur demi-mot suffit_ (or, _salut_) = A word to the
wise is enough; _Verbum sap._
_Il entend à demi-mot_ = He can take a hint.
_Ils se sont donné le mot_ = They have passed the word round;
They have agreed before-hand what to say.
_Tranchons le mot_ = In plain English; Not to mince matters; To
put it plainly.
_C’est mon dernier mot_ = That is the last concession I can make;
I will not take less.
_Il sait le fin mot de tout cela_ = He understands the upshot of
all this.
_Ne soufflez pas mot!_ = Do not breathe a word!
_En deux mots_ = To cut a long story short.
_Des mots longs d’une toise_ = Words as long as your arm.
[RACINE, _Plaideurs_, i. 1.]
_Je ne mâche pas mes mots_ = I don’t mince matters; I call a
spade a spade.
Mouche
_Les grosses mouches passent à travers la toile de la justice,
mais les petites y sont prises_ = One man may steal a horse,
while another dare not look over the hedge; Justice will whip a
beggar, but bow to a lord; One does the scath, another has the
harm; The crow gets pardoned, and the dove has the blame.
[“_Où la guêpe a passé, le moucheron demeure._”
LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, ii. 16.
“Quidquid delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi.”
HOR., _Ep._, i. 2.
Italian: Un fa il peccato, l’altro la penitenza.]
*_Vous faites d’une mouche un éléphant_ = You make a mountain out
of a molehill.
[“Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.”
HORACE, _Ars Poetica_.]
_Quelle mouche vous pique?_ = What irritates you? What whim have
you got into your head?
_Il a pris la mouche_ = He is in a huff; He got offended.
*_On prend plus de mouches avec du miel qu’avec du vinaigre_ =
More is done by kindness than by harshness.
_C’est une fine mouche_ = He is a sly dog, a deep one.
_C’est la mouche du coche_ = He is a regular busybody; The worst
wheel makes the most noise. (See _Coche_ and _Bruit_.)
_Faire mouche_ = To hit the bull’s eye.
Moudre
_Il viendra moudre à notre moulin_ = He will be in want of us
some day.
Moulin
_C’est un vrai moulin à paroles_ = She is a regular chatterbox;
He is a regular windbag.
Moutarde
_Il m’a fait monter la moutarde au nez_ = He irritated me; He
made me lose my temper.
_C’est de la moutarde après dîner_ = It comes too late to be of
any use; It is a day after the fair.
[“Depugnato proelio venire.”--PLAUTUS, _Menaechmi_, v. 6, 30.
“Κατόπιν τῆς ἑορτῆς ἥκεις” = You have come after the
feast.--PLATO, _Gorgias_.]
Moutardier
_Il se croit le premier moutardier du pape_ = He thinks no small
beer of himself.
Mouton
*_Revenons à nos moutons_ = But to return to our subject.
[From an old farce of the fifteenth century, _Maistre Pierre
Pathelin_, verse 1191, attributed without foundation to Pierre
Blanchet. M. F. Génin in his edition (1854) gives 1460 as the
date, and Antoine de la Sale as the author. It was adapted
in 1706 by Brueys and Palaprat, under the title of _L’Avocat
Patelin_. See also RÉGNIER, _Sat._, ii.]
Moyen
_Il n’y a pas moyen_ = It cannot be done.
_Il fait valoir ses moyens_ = 1. He makes the best of his
talents. 2. He boasts of his talents.
_Cet enfant a peu de moyens_ = That child is not clever.
Mur
_Je l’ai mis au pied du mur_ = I drove him into a corner; I made
him decide one way or the other.
Muraille
*_Muraille blanche, papier de fou_ = Fools write their names on
walls.
[Late Latin: Stultorum calami, carbones mœnia chartae.]
Musique
_Il est réglé comme un papier de musique_ = He is as regular as
clockwork.
N.
Nage
_Je suis tout en nage_ = I am in a thorough perspiration; I have
not a dry thread on me.
Navette
_Faire la navette_ = To go to and fro between two places several
times.
Nèfle
_Avoir quelque chose pour des nèfles_ (fam.) = To buy something
for a mere song.
Nerf
_Vous me donnez sur les nerfs_ = You get on my nerves; You rile
me (fam.).
Net
_Mettez cela au net_ = Make a fair copy of that.
_Il a les mains nettes_ (fig.) = He is honest; His hands are
clean.
_Refuser net_ = To refuse point-blank.
Nez
_Il a un pied de nez_ (fam.) = He pulls a long face, looks
foolish.
[Also: _Il fait un nez._]
_Il a fait un pied de nez_ (fam.) = He put his fingers to his
nose; “He cut a snook.”
_Ce coup l’a fait saigner du nez_ = That blow made his nose bleed.
_Il a saigné du nez_ = (lit.) His nose bled; (fig.) His heart
failed him.
_A vue de nez_ = By rule of thumb.
_Il veut toujours fourrer son nez partout_ (fam.) = He wants to
have his finger in every pie. (See _Fourrer_.)
_On voulait lui tirer les vers du nez_ = They wished to pump him.
_Vous vous y casserez le nez_ = 1. You will fall on your face. 2.
You will knock up against something. 3. You will fail in that.
_Porter le nez au vent_ = To stare about aimlessly.
_Il me regarda sous le nez_ = He stared me in the face.
_Il me l’a jeté au nez_ = He cast it in my teeth.
_Il a le nez fin_ = 1. He has a good nose. 2. He is far-sighted,
sagacious.
_Qui coupe son nez dégarnit son visage_ = It is an ill bird that
fouls its own nest; He who cuts off his nose spites his own face.
[Also: _S’arracher le nez pour faire dépit à son visage._]
_Il me ferma la porte au nez_ = He shut the door in my face.
_Il lui en pend autant au nez_ = He may expect as much (something
unpleasant); He will fare no better.
Nid
_On n’a plus trouvé que le nid_ = They found the birds flown.
Nitouche
_Elle fait la sainte Nitouche_ = She plays the innocent; She
looks as if butter would not melt in her mouth; She looks very
demure.
[_Sainte Nitouche_ is derived from _sainte n’y touche_, shortened
from _une sainte qui n’y touche pas_. See _Toucher_.]
Noce
_Je n’ai jamais été à pareille noce_ (or, _fête_) = I never had
such a time of it.
_Il a fait la noce toute la semaine_ = He has had a high old time
of it all the week; He has been on the spree all the week.
[Literally, to enjoy oneself as if one were _a guest at a
wedding_, where there is plenty of merriment, food, and drink.]
_Je ne suis pas à la noce_ = I am not enjoying myself at all.
Noël
*_Tant crie l’on Noël qu’il vient_ (Villon) = Long looked for
comes at last; That is coming--like Christmas.
_Quand Noël est vert, les Pâques seront blanches_ = When the
winter is mild, the spring will be wintry.
Noir
_Voir tout en noir_ = To look on the black side of things; To
have the blues.
[Opposite to: _voir tout en rose_, or, _voir tout couleur de
rose_.]
_Broyer du noir_ = To have the blues; To feel very sad.
Nom
_Nom d’un petit bonhomme!_ (fam.) = By Jingo!
_Voilà un nom à coucher dehors (avec un billet de logement
dans la poche)_ = That’s a name too ugly for words; That’s an
outlandish name if you like.
Nombre
_Tout fait nombre_ = Every little helps.
Normand
_C’est répondre en Normand_ = That is an evasive answer.
Nourrice
_Elle dit qu’elle a vingt ans._--_Et les mois de nourrice!_ (fam.)
= She says she is twenty.--And the rest!
Nouvelle
_Goûtez-moi ce vin; vous m’en direz des nouvelles_ (fam.) = You
just taste this wine, you don’t get wine like that every day;
What do you think of that for wine, my boy?
Nue
_Tomber des nues_ = To be astounded.
Nuire
*_Ce qui nuit à l’un sert à l’autre_ = What is one man’s meat is
another man’s poison.
Nuit
*_La nuit porte conseil_ = Time will show a plan; Sleep upon it;
Seek advice of your pillow.
O.
Œil
_Se fourrer le doigt dans l’œil_ (pop.) = To deceive oneself
blindly.
[Sometimes _jusqu’au coude_ is added.]
_Il a les yeux au beurre noir_ (pop.) = He has a couple of black
eyes; He has his eyes in mourning.
[Also: _Il à les yeux pochés._]
_Je ne vois pas cela d’un bon œil_ = I do not look favourably
upon that.
_Cela saute aux yeux_ = That is evident, obvious; It is as clear
as noonday.
_Je l’ai regardé entre les deux yeux_ = I looked him straight in
the face; I stared at him.
_Entrer à l’œil dans un théâtre_ (fam.) = To get into a theatre
on the nod (_i.e._ gratis).
_Avoir le compas dans l’œil_ = To have a good eye for distances.
_Elle a des yeux à la perdition de son âme_ = Her eyes are so
lovely that they will be her ruin.
_Vous ne voyez point votre chapeau? Mais il vous crève les yeux!_
= You do not see your hat? Why, it stares you in the face! (it’s
just under your nose).
_La lumière me tire les yeux_ = The light hurts my eyes.
_Il ne le fera pas pour vos beaux yeux_ = He will not do it for
you for nothing.
_Nous convînmes de cela entre quatre yeux_ = We agreed to that
between ourselves.
_Je m’en bats l’œil_ (pop.) = I don’t care a straw for it.
_Il a les yeux battus_ = He has a tired look about his eyes.
_Il a les yeux cernés_ = He has dark circles round his eyes.
_Des yeux à fleur de tête_ = Goggle eyes. (See _Fleur_.)
_Ouvrez l’œil, et le bon!_ (fam.) = Look out!
_Cela lui a tapé dans l’œil_ (pop.) = That took his fancy; He was
much struck by that.
Œuf
*_Donner un œuf pour avoir un bœuf_ = To give a sprat to catch a
herring (_or_, mackerel).
[Also: _Supporter peu pour avoir tout_.]
*_Faire d’un œuf un bœuf_ = To make a mountain out of a molehill.
_Il tondrait sur un œuf_ = He would skin a flint. (See _Huile_
and _Cheveux_.)
Œuvre
*_La fin couronne l’œuvre_ = The end crowns all; All’s well that
ends well.
_Mettez la main à l’œuvre_ = Put your shoulder to the wheel.
*_À l’œuvre on connaît l’artisan_ = A carpenter is known by his
chips; The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
[LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, i. 21, _Les frelons et la mouche à miel_.]
Oindre
*_Oignez vilain, il vous poindra:
Poignez vilain, il vous oindra._
[An old saying used by the French nobles during the middle
ages, and found in a collection of proverbs of the thirteenth
century.--_Rab._, i, 21. The Duc de Bourbon, in speaking before
the États-Généraux in 1484, said: “Je connais le caractère des
vilains. S’ils ne sont opprimés, il faut qu’ils oppriment.”
Comp. “Tender-handed stroke a nettle,
And it stings you for your pains;
Grasp it like a man of mettle,
And it soft as silk remains.”
--AARON HILL, _Verses written on a window in Scotland_.]
Oiseau
_Il a battu les buissons, un autre a pris l’oiseau_ = He did the
work and another had the profit.
[Donatus in his “Life of Virgil” quotes the famous line: “Sic vos
non vobis nidificatis aves.” Hesiod says of drones: “ἀλλότριον
κάματον σφετέρην ἑς γαστερ᾽ ἀμῶνται = Into their own bellies they
scrape together the labour of others.” The Talmud says: “One says
grace and another eats”; the New Testament: “One soweth, another
reapeth.” Henry V. is reported to have said: “Shall I beat the
bush and another take the bird?” when it was proposed to him to
give up the Duke of Orleans to the Burgundians.]
*_À tout oiseau son nid est beau_ = Home is home, be it ever so
homely. (See _Chez_.)
“_Aux petits des oiseaux il donne leur pâture_” = He that sends
mouths sends meat.
[RACINE, _Athalie_, ii. 7.]
_À vue d’oiseau_ = A bird’s-eye view.
_À vol d’oiseau_ = As the crow flies.
Oisiveté
*“_L’oisiveté est la mère de tous les vices_” = “For Satan finds
some mischief still for idle hands to do.”--WATTS, _Divine
Songs_, xx. (See _Fille_.)
[COLLÉ, _La Partie de Chasse de Henri IV._, iii. 1. Also:
_Négligence mène déchéance_ = Idle men tempt the devil.]
On
On _est un sot_ = “They-say-so” is half a liar.
[Note that there is no liaison after _On_ here.]
Ongle
_Il a de l’esprit jusqu’au bout des ongles_ = He is witty to the
tips of his fingers; He is extremely witty.
_Il a bec et ongles_ = He will fight with beak and claw, tooth
and nail.
Onguent
*_Dans les petites boîtes les bons onguents_ = Small parcels hold
fine wares. (See _Aune_.)
Opiner
_Il opine du bonnet_ = He agrees with the previous speakers
without saying a word.
[From the custom of judges who agreed with the decision of a
brother judge, taking off their caps and saying nothing. It is
also said of a subordinate who always agrees with his superior.]
Oreille
_Il se fera tirer l’oreille_ = He will require pressing.
_Il se retira l’oreille basse_ = He went away crestfallen.
_J’ai les oreilles rebattues de cela_ = I am tired of hearing
that.
_Il dort sur les deux oreilles_ = (lit.) He sleeps soundly;
(fig.) His mind is quite easy.
_Il n’écoute que d’une oreille_ = He pays very little attention
to what is being said.
_Ne venez pas ainsi me corner aux oreilles_ = Do not come and din
it into my ears in that way.
_Il fait la sourde oreille_ = He turns a deaf ear; He pretends
not to hear.
_Je n’entends pas de cette oreille-là_ = I will not listen to
that.
_Par dessus les oreilles_ = Over head and ears.
_Autant lui en pend à l’oreille_ = He may expect the same
(something unpleasant). (Compare _Nez_.)
_Les oreilles ont dû vous corner (tinter)_ = Your ears must
have burned.
_Je lui frotterai les oreilles_ = I will twist his tail for him.
Orfèvre
*“_Vous êtes orfèvre, Monsieur Josse!_” = That is a bit of
special pleading; That is not disinterested advice; There’s
nothing like leather!
[MOLIÈRE, _L’Amour Médecin_, i. 1. This quotation refers to
Sganarelle’s daughter who suffers from an incurable lowness of
spirits. All his neighbours give him advice as to how to cure
her; among them, Monsieur Josse, a jeweller, suggests that a fine
necklace of diamonds or rubies would undoubtedly cure her. The
father, distracted though he be, is not so far gone as not to see
through this remark, and he replies in the words that have since
become proverbial.]
Orgueil
*_Il n’est orgueil que de sot enrichi_ = Set a beggar on
horseback, he’ll ride to the devil.
Orme
*_Attendez-moi sous l’orme_ = You may wait for me till doomsday.
Ortie
_Rabelais jeta le froc aux orties_ = Rabelais was an unfrocked
priest.
Ôter
_Ôte-toi de là que je m’y mette_ = You get out and let me get in.
[Origin unknown; probably le Vicomte de Ségur first used it.
Comp. Sancho Panza, “Imitando al juego de los muchachos que dicen
‘Salta tu y dámela tu’ doy un salto del gobierno.”]
Oublier
_Oublions le passé_ = Let bygones be bygones.
Ours
_C’est un ours mal léché_ = He is an ill-licked cub; He is an
ill-bred [_or_, ill-shapen] fellow.
[LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, xi. 7.]
_C’est le pavé de l’ours_ = Save me from my friends.
[“Rien n’est si dangereux qu’un ignorant ami
Mieux vaudrait un sage ennemi.”
LA FONTAINE, _Fables_, viii. 10.
An old gardener, feeling lonely, had adopted a bear as a
companion. One day, when his master was asleep, he sees a fly on
his face; he tries to drive it away, but it declines to move, so
he takes up a huge paving-stone and kills the fly--and his master
too.]
Ouvrier
*_Mauvais ouvrier n’a jamais bons outils_ = A bad workman always
blames his tools.
Ouvrir
_Il traduit à livre ouvert_ = He translates at sight.
P.
Paille
_Tout y va, la paille et le blé_ = He spends all he has.
_Il mourra sur la paille_ = He will die in the gutter.
_Il est sur la paille_ = He is exceedingly poor.
_Tirons à la courte paille_ = Let us draw lots.
*_Cela enlève la paille_ = “That takes the cake.”
[The French is hardly as popular an expression as the English,
which might be rendered in French by _décrocher la timbale_.
Quitard derives _paille_ from _paîle_, a kind of rich cloth given
as a prize in athletic contests. Littré imagines it originated
with amber, which has the property of raising light objects, such
as straw. Madame de Sévigné writes (13th Jan. 1672): “Racine a
fait une comédie qui s’appelle Bajazet et qui enlève la paille.”
The English expression is said to come from the custom of
negroes, when giving a ball, to provide a cake to be given to the
best-dressed couple. The competitors walk round and are judged by
the other guests. Hence the term cake-walk.]
Pain
_Cet homme est bon comme le pain_ = That man is goodness itself.
_Il a mangé son pain blanc le premier_ = He had the best of his
life first; His happiest days are over.
[In many parts of the Continent white bread is not the matter of
course that it is in England; brown or black bread is the usual
fare of the poorer classes.]
*_Tel grain, tel pain_ = What you sow, you must mow.
_On lui a fait passer le goût du pain_ (fam.) = They killed him.
_C’est pain bénit_ = It serves you (him, her, them) right.
_Il a du pain sur la planche_ = He has saved money; He has enough
to live upon; He has put something by for a rainy day; There is
plenty of work for him to do.
*_De tout s’avise à qui pain faut (manque)_ = Necessity is the
mother of invention.
*_Pain tant qu’il dure, vin à mesure_ = Eat at pleasure, drink by
measure.
*_Il ne vaut pas le pain qu’il mange_ = He is not worth his salt.
_Il sait son pain manger_ = He knows on which side his bread is
buttered.
*_C’est un long jour qu’un jour sans pain_ = ’Tis a long lane
that has no turning.
*_Pain dérobé réveille appétit_ = Stolen joys are sweet.
[“_Pain qu’on dérobe et qu’on mange en cachette,
Vaut mieux que pain qu’on cuit et qu’on achète._”
LA FONTAINE, _Les Troqueurs_.]
_Je ne mange pas de ce pain-là_ = I don’t go in for that sort of
thing.
Pair
_Hors de pair_ = Beyond all comparison; Above the level of others.
_Traiter quelqu’un de pair à compagnon_ = To be
hail-fellow-well-met with any one; To treat any one on an equal
footing.
Paire
*_Les deux font la paire_ (fam.) = They are well matched;
_Arcades ambo_.
Paître
*_Je l’ai envoyé paître_ (fam.) = I sent him about his business.
Paix
_Paix et peu_ = Anything for a quiet life.
Panier
*_Adieu paniers, vendanges sont faites_ = You come too late, it
is all over.
[The chorus of an old glee sung by the grape-pickers when their
labours were finished. Comp. RABELAIS, _Gargantua_, xxvii.]
_Vous me donnez le dessus du panier_ = You give me the best, the
pick.
[_Le dessous du panier_ = the refuse.]
_C’est un panier percé_ = He is a spendthrift.
Panneau
_Donner dans le panneau_ = To fall into the trap.
Panse
_Il n’a pas fait une panse d’a aujourd’hui_ = He has not done a
stroke all day.
[_Panse d’a_ = the round part of an _a_.]
Papier
_Il n’est pas dans mes petits papiers_ = He is not in my good
books.
[“Oh! pourvu que je sois
Dans les petits papiers du _Mercure François_.”
ROSTAND, _Cyrano de Bergerac_, ii. 8.]
Paquet
_Je lui ai donné son paquet_ = I gave him the sack.
_Faire un paquet_ = To make a parcel.
_Faire son paquet_ = To pack up and go.
Par
_De par le roi_ = By the king’s command.
[“De par le roi, défense à Dieu
De faire miracle en ce lieu.”
A cynical couplet that arose when Louis XV. prohibited
pilgrimages to the tomb of François de Pâris, behind the Church
of St. Médard in Paris, because of the Convulsionnaires.]
Paraître
_Sans qu’il y paraisse, c’est un homme fort instruit_ = Without
making any show he is a very well-informed man.
_A ce qu’il me paraît_ = As far as I can judge, see.
_Le livre vient de paraître_ = The book is just out, just
published.
_Il n’y paraît plus_ = There is no trace of it.
_Il n’y paraît pas_ = One would not have thought it.
Pareil
_J’ai le pareil_ = I have one like it.
_Je vous rendrai la pareille_ = 1. I will pay you out. 2. I will
do the same for you.
_On n’a jamais vu chose pareille_ = One never heard of such a
thing.
Paresseux
*_Ce sont les paresseux qui font le plus de chemin_ = Lazy people
take the most pains.
_Parier Il y a cent_ (or, _gros_) _à parier qu’ils ne reviendront
pas_ = The odds are that they will not come back.
Paris
_Il prend Paris pour Corbeil, le Pirée pour un homme_ = “He does
not know a hawk from a handsaw.”
[_Hamlet_, ii. 2, where “handsaw” is a corruption of hernshaw =
heron. This was an old proverb, corrupted before Shakespeare’s
day.
“Pour grain ne prenant paille ou Paris pour Corbeil.”--RÉGNIER,
_Sat._ xiv.]
_Le Tout-Paris de ce temps-là_ = The fashionable world of Paris
of that day.
Parler
_Nous parlions de la pluie et du beau temps_ = We were not
talking of anything important or confidential; We were talking of
indifferent matters.
_Parler de bouche_ } = Lip worship does not
_Au cœur ne touche_ } reach the heart.
_C’est à vous à parler_ = It is your turn to speak.
_C’est à vous de parler_ = It is your duty to speak.
_Qu’il vienne, il trouvera à qui parler_ = Let him come, he will
find his match.
_Trop gratter cuit, trop parler nuit_ = Least said, soonest
mended; Speech is silvern, silence is golden.
[Italian: Chi parla semina, chi tace raccoglie = Who speaks sows,
who keeps silence reaps.
_Qui d’autruy parler voudra
Regarde soi et il taira._]
*_Jamais beau parler n’écorcha la langue_ = Fair words never did
harm; Civility costs nothing.
_Il a son franc parler_ = He is free-spoken.
Parole
*_Vous avez la parole_ = It is your turn to speak; You are
allowed to speak (_i.e._ you have caught the Speaker’s eye). See
_Avoir_.
_Je lui coupai la parole_ = I interrupted him.
*_Un homme d’honneur n’a que sa parole_ = An honest man’s word is
as good as his bond.
_Être de parole_ = To be as good as one’s word.
_Manquer de parole_ (or, _manquer à sa parole_) = To break one’s
word.
_Tenir parole_ = To keep one’s word.
Part
_En bonne ou mauvaise part_ = In a good or bad sense.
_Nous le savons de bonne part_ = We know it on good authority.
Partager
_Il est bien partagé_ = The Fates have been kind to him.
Parti
_Il a pris son parti_ = 1. He has made up his mind. 2. He has
resigned himself to it.
_De parti pris_ = Deliberately.
_C’est un parti pris_ = His mind is made up; It is a foregone
conclusion.
_C’est un parti pris chez lui de toujours contredire_ = He will
always contradict.
_A parti pris point de conseil_ = Advice is useless when a man’s
mind is made up.
_Il tire parti de tout_ = He makes a profit out of everything.
_Il sait tirer parti de la vie_ = He knows how to make the best
of life.
_Il a épousé un bon parti_ = He made a good match.
_Il vous fera un mauvais parti_ = He will try and pick a quarrel
with you so as to ill-use you, to do you harm.
Partie
_Il m’a pris à partie_ = He took me to task; (legally) He
summoned me.
[_Partie_ is literally a man who pleads against any one in a
lawsuit. Compare:
“Va, je suis ta partie et non pas ton bourreau.”
CORNEILLE, _Cid_, 839.]
_C’était une partie nulle_ = It was a drawn game.
Pas
_Marcher à pas de géant_ = To put on one’s seven-league boots.
_Se tirer d’un mauvais pas_ = To get out of an awkward fix
(scrape).
*_Il n’y a que le premier pas qui coûte_ = In everything the
beginning is the most difficult part; The first step downward
makes the others easier.
[“_Il n’y a que le premier obstacle qui coûte à
vaincre._”--BOSSUET, _Pensées chrétiennes_, 9.]
_Il prend le pas sur moi_ = He takes precedence of me.
_J’y vais de ce pas_ = I am going there directly.
_Je le mettrai au pas_ = I will put him on his good behaviour.
_Marquer le pas_ = (lit.) To mark time; (fig.) To wait for a post
to which one has a right.
_Marchez au pas_ = Drive slowly; Walk in step.
Passe
_Il est en passe de devenir ministre_ = He is in a fair way (he
stands a good chance) to become a Cabinet Minister.
Passer
_Il faut bien que j’en passe par là_ = I must submit to that; I
must put up with it.