FrenchAvancer masqué
Meaning: To act in a hidden or anonymous way, concealing one's intentions or identity.
Literally: To advance masked
Example: “Le promoteur a avancé masqué en achetant les terrains sous différents noms.” — The developer kept his plans under wraps by buying the land under different names.
English equivalent: To keep one's cards close to one's chest
Equivalents in other languages
English: Origin: The mask is the theater's, worn so the face cannot be read. The image has a famous early user: in private notes from 1619, the young René Descartes compared himself to an actor who puts on a mask so his blushes will not show, and wrote larvatus prodeo, "I come forward masked." The notes were not published in his lifetime, and the modern French phrase is not documented as coming from them. Today it is said of anyone pursuing a goal while hiding who they are or what they want.
More French idioms
- Ne pas fermer l’œil de la nuit To be unable to sleep; to stay awake all night.
- Réduire la voilure To cut back on spending, resources, or ambitions.
- Se mettre la rate au court-bouillon To worry pointlessly and obsessively over something.
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- Regarder la pointe de ses souliers To lower one's eyes in embarrassment or shame.
- Faire florès To achieve success and build a reputation.
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