Au pied levé
Meaning: At a moment's notice, with no preparation.
Language: French
Literally: With the foot raised
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: The image is of being called away mid-stride, with one foot already off the ground. It is used above all of understudies and stand-ins.
More idioms — Body & Senses
- Se noyer dans un verre d'eau — To be defeated by the smallest difficulty.
- Jeter de la poudre aux yeux — To create a dazzling false impression.
- Tenir à quelque chose comme à la prunelle de ses yeux — To guard something as one's most precious possession.
- Allumer ses quinquets — To open one's eyes and pay attention.
- Couper le sifflet à quelqu'un — To silence someone abruptly, usually with an unanswerable point.
- Être dans ses petits souliers — To be acutely ill at ease.
More French idioms
- Merde ! — Good luck — said to a performer before going on stage.
- Voilà pourquoi votre fille est muette — Said of a grand explanation that explains nothing.
- Passez, muscade ! — Hey presto — said when something vanishes suspiciously conveniently.
- Se croire le premier moutardier du pape — To have a wildly inflated sense of one's own importance.
- Mystère et boule de gomme — Nobody has the faintest idea.
- Promettre monts et merveilles — To promise far more than could ever be delivered.
From our untranslatable words
- L'esprit de l'escalier — Thinking of the perfect comeback only after the moment has passed — on your way down the…
- Terroir — The unique character that a place — its soil, climate and tradition — gives to a wine or…
- Râler — To complain and grumble with a certain national flair — a beloved French pastime.
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