
IdiomDaily Life
French
À cor et à cri
Meaning: Loudly and insistently; demanding something at the top of one's voice.
Literally: With horn and with cry
Example: “Les habitants réclament à cor et à cri un feu rouge devant l'école.” — Residents are loudly demanding a traffic light outside the school.
English equivalent: To raise a hue and cry
Equivalents in other languages
English: raise a hue and cry
Origin: From hunting, where the quarry was pursued with both the horn and the shouting of the field. Cor is the instrument, not the body part, which is why the spelling defeats people.
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- Sans coup férir Without any resistance at all; effortlessly.
- Un coup de fil A telephone call.
- Tomber comme un couperet To land suddenly and irrevocably, as of bad news.
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