Avoir le vent en poupe
Meaning: To be doing very well; everything is going your way.
Language: French
Literally: To have the wind at the stern
Category: Nature
Origin: Purely nautical to begin with: the poupe is a ship's stern, and wind striking it from directly behind drives the vessel forward as efficiently as wind can. Sailors were using the phrase from the 14th century for anyone luck seemed to be pushing along from behind, all obstacles smoothed away — a wholly favorable position to be in, since a following wind is the one kind of wind a sailing ship never has to fight. It moved into everyday language as a straightforward metaphor for success that seems to be building of its own accord.
More idioms — Nature
- Avoir la tête dans les nuages — To be a daydreamer; out of touch with reality.
- Jeter de l'huile sur le feu — To make a bad situation worse.
- faire la pluie et le beau temps — Having complete control over a situation or someone's fate.
- être une girouette — Being inconsistent, constantly changing opinions or allegiances.
- estar más claro que el agua — Something is obvious, evident, and beyond any doubt or confusion.
- come hell or high water — no matter what obstacles arise; with absolute determination.
More French idioms
- Mettre les pieds dans le plat — To put one's foot in it; to say something awkward or blunt.
- Tourner autour du pot — To beat around the bush.
- Casser du sucre sur le dos de quelqu'un — To talk behind someone's back.
- Faire d'une pierre deux coups — To kill two birds with one stone.
- Faire d'une mouche un éléphant — To make a mountain out of a molehill; to exaggerate wildly.
- avoir des fourmis — Experiencing a tingling or prickling sensation in a limb losing circulation.
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.