IdiomNature
French
FrenchAutant en emporte le vent
Meaning: Said of promises and words that will come to nothing.
Literally: The wind carries it all away
Example: “Ses promesses de campagne ? Autant en emporte le vent.” — His campaign promises? Gone with the wind.
English equivalent: Gone with the wind
Equivalents in other languages
English: gone with the wind
Origin: The phrase is in Villon and older still in French poetry, long before it was chosen to translate Gone with the Wind in 1939. The novel borrowed the mood; French already had the words.
More French idioms
- Rendre son tablier To resign, usually in protest.
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- 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.
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