baisser pavillon
Meaning: To concede defeat or accept inferiority; to surrender.
Language: French
Literally: to lower the pavilion
Category: Daily Life
Origin: From naval tradition, where a ship lowers its flag or ensign as a sign of surrender or submission to a superior force.
More idioms — Daily Life
- être dos au mur — To be in a desperate situation with no way to retreat or escape.
- chercher des misères — To deliberately provoke a quarrel with someone.
- retourner à la case départ — To find oneself back where one began, as if no progress had been made.
- sentir la naphtaline — To be old-fashioned or antiquated.
- passer maître — To become the foremost expert in something.
- courir après les cotillons — To pursue amorous or romantic adventures.
More French idioms
- 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.
- prendre à la gorge — To seize someone or something forcefully; to make breathing or speech difficult; to trigg…
- regarder la pointe de ses souliers — To lower one's eyes in embarrassment or shame.
- faire florès — To achieve success and build a reputation.
- fuir comme la peste — To avoid something or someone as much as possible.
From our tongue twisters
- Didon dîna, dit-on, du dos d'un dodu dindon dont le dodu dos dodine. — A 'd' / 'din' / 'dod' avalanche that seems designed to jam the tongue in third gear.
- Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. — The classic French 'ch' / 's' tangler.
- Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? — A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.