Au bout du rouleau
Meaning: Completely exhausted; at the end of one's resources.
Language: French
Literally: At the end of the roll
Category: Daily Life
Origin: The rouleau is the scroll, and reaching its end meant there was nothing further written. The reading of it as a roll of money is later and probably wrong.
More idioms — Daily Life
- Hommes de sac et de corde — Thorough scoundrels.
- L'affaire est dans le sac — It is as good as settled.
- Mettre à sac — To plunder a place completely.
- À bon entendeur, salut — A word to the wise — take the hint.
- Bon sang ! — Good grief — an exclamation of exasperation.
- Bon sang ne saurait mentir — Breeding shows in the end.
More French idioms
- Séance tenante — Then and there, without adjournment.
- Un coup de semonce — A deliberate warning, delivered before real consequences.
- Un train de sénateur — A slow, dignified gait.
- Nourri dans le sérail — Brought up inside an institution and knowing all its workings.
- Ce n'est pas une sinécure — It is not an easy job.
- Une chasse aux sorcières — A campaign of persecution driven by suspicion rather than evidence.
From our false friends
- Assister — Actually means 'to attend' an event. J'assiste à la réunion = I attend the meeting. For a…
- Phrase — Actually means 'sentence'. For a short phrase or expression, say une expression.
- Ignorer — Actually means 'to be unaware of' or 'not to know'. J'ignore la réponse = I don't know th…
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