IdiomNature
French
FrenchAller à vau-l'eau
Meaning: To fall into ruin; to drift towards collapse.
Literally: To go down the water
Example: “Depuis le départ du fondateur, l'association va à vau-l'eau.” — Since the founder left, the association has gone to pot.
English equivalent: To go to pot
Equivalents in other languages
English: go to pot
Origin: Vau is a worn form of val, the valley, so the phrase means going downstream with the current. Requiring no effort is precisely the point of the criticism.
More French idioms
- Rendre son tablier To resign, usually in protest.
- Sans tambour ni trompette Discreetly, without any announcement.
- Prendre la tangente To slip away, or to dodge a question.
- Partir à Tataouine To be packed off somewhere remote and unpleasant.
- Mieux vaut tenir que courir Better to keep what you have than chase what you might get.
- Un travail de Titan An undertaking of enormous scale.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. An 's' / 'si' minefield.
- Dans ta tente ta tante t'attend. A gentle 'ta / ten / tan / t'' warm-up that sounds faster than it reads.
- Seize chaises sèches sur seize arches sèches. A relentless collision of 'sei', 'sèch', and 's' — the tongue can't find traction.
Keep exploring