Alea jacta est
Meaning: The decision is irrevocable and there is no turning back.
Language: French
Literally: The die is cast
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Attributed to Caesar crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC, committing to civil war. Suetonius records it in Latin; Plutarch has him quoting Menander in Greek, so the famous form may be the less authentic one.
More idioms — Daily Life
- De bon aloi — Genuine and of good quality; its opposite, de mauvais aloi, means dubious or in poor tast…
- L'alpha et l'oméga — The beginning and the end; the entirety of something, or its essential principle.
- Vendre son âme au diable — To sacrifice one's principles for power, wealth or success.
- Faire amende honorable — To publicly admit you were wrong and apologize.
- Bon an, mal an — On average, taking the good years with the bad; year in, year out.
- Le libre arbitre — Free will — the capacity to choose independently of compulsion.
More French idioms
- L'argent n'a pas d'odeur — Money is money regardless of how disreputably it was earned.
- Une Arlésienne — A person or thing endlessly talked about but who never actually appears.
- Signer son arrêt de mort — To take an action that guarantees your own downfall.
- Un homme de l'art — A qualified professional, especially a physician.
- C'est du grand art — That is masterfully done.
- L'enfance de l'art — Utterly elementary; child's play.
From our untranslatable words
- Épanouissement — The full flourishing of a person — blooming into your most complete, radiant self. More t…
- Ressourcement — The act of returning to one's roots or origins to find renewal — going back to a place, t…
- Dépaysement — The disorienting yet often pleasant feeling of being far from home, immersed in the unfam…
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