IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchÀ l'envi
Meaning: Vying with one another; each trying to outdo the rest.
Literally: In emulation
Example: “Les invités vantaient à l'envi la cuisine de l'hôte.” — The guests tried to outdo each other praising the host's cooking.
Origin: From the archaic verb envier meaning to challenge or bid against, not from envie, desire. The missing final e is correct and is corrected wrongly by nearly everyone.
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- Fauché comme les blés Completely broke.
- S'inscrire en faux To formally deny something and challenge its truth.
- Cherchez la femme There is a woman behind this somewhere.
- Jeter l'argent par les fenêtres To spend recklessly and pointlessly.
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- Goutte à goutte, l'eau creuse la pierre Small, constant efforts achieve great results.
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- Le singe est toujours singe, fût-il vêtu de pourpre Finery can't change someone's true nature.
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