IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchAprès moi le déluge
Meaning: What happens once I am gone is not my problem.
Literally: After me, the flood
Example: “Il vide les caisses avant de partir à la retraite : après moi le déluge.” — He's emptying the coffers before he retires: after me, the deluge.
English equivalent: After me, the deluge
Equivalents in other languages
English: after me, the deluge
Origin: Attributed to Louis XV, or to Madame de Pompadour after the defeat at Rossbach in 1757. The attribution is uncertain and the sentiment reads as a prophecy of 1789, which is why it stuck.
More French idioms
- À Dieu ne plaise God forbid.
- Dieu reconnaîtra les siens Act without discriminating and let a higher authority sort out the innocent.
- Mon petit doigt m'a dit I know something you did not expect me to know.
- Dorer la pilule To make an unpleasant fact easier to accept by dressing it up.
- Qui dort dîne Sleep takes the place of a meal you cannot afford.
- Se la couler douce To take life very easy indeed.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- Il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué Don't count on a gain before you actually have it.
- Loin des yeux, loin du cœur When people are apart, their feelings for each other fade.
- C'est au pied du mur qu'on voit le maçon You only know what someone can do when they are put to the test.
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