À l'usage du Dauphin
Meaning: Expurgated; censored for delicate sensibilities.
Language: French
Literally: For the use of the Dauphin
Category: Daily Life
Origin: From the ad usum Delphini editions of the classics prepared for Louis XIV's son, with the indecent passages removed. The label became a byword for bowdlerization, generally sneering.
More idioms — Daily Life
- Les dés sont pipés — The outcome is rigged in advance.
- Au débotté — On the spot, with no time to prepare.
- Les délices de Capoue — Comfort that saps the will to keep fighting.
- Après moi le déluge — What happens once I am gone is not my problem.
- Le démon de midi — The midlife crisis, especially its romantic form.
- Mentir comme un arracheur de dents — To lie brazenly and habitually.
More French idioms
- Dur à la détente — Slow to understand — or, in the other sense, reluctant to part with money.
- Qui paye ses dettes s'enrichit — Settling what you owe leaves you better off than owing it.
- Faire son deuil de quelque chose — To accept that something is lost and give up on it.
- Jeter son dévolu sur quelque chose — To settle firmly on something one intends to have.
- À Dieu ne plaise — God forbid.
- Dieu reconnaîtra les siens — Act without discriminating and let a higher authority sort out the innocent.
From our compliments & insults
- Tu as la tête sur les épaules — You're grounded, sensible, and dependable — not easily swept off course.
- Tu as le vent en poupe — Everything is going your way — you're riding a wave of momentum and success.
- Tu es un as — You're brilliant at what you do — the very best.
Browse all compliments & insults →
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