FrenchBaisser pavillon
Meaning: To concede defeat or accept inferiority; to surrender.
Literally: To lower the pavilion
Example: “Après trois heures de négociation, le vendeur a fini par baisser pavillon.” — After three hours of haggling, the seller finally backed down.
English equivalent: To throw in the towel
Other ways to say this
English: throw in the towel
Portuguese: Chutar o balde Literally: To kick the bucket
Swedish: Att kasta yxan i sjön Literally: To throw the axe in the lake
Czech: Házet flintu do žita Literally: To throw the rifle into the rye
Icelandic: Að leggja árar í bát Literally: To lay the oars in the boat- French: Jeter l'éponge Literally: To throw the sponge
- French: Mettre pavillon bas Literally: To lower the flag
Origin: The pavillon is a ship's flag, the one that shows its nationality. At sea, lowering it was the signal of surrender and also a mark of deference to a superior ship: the Académie française's first dictionary (1694) already records mettre le pavillon bas, and Voltaire tells how Louis XIV made Spanish admirals lower their flag before his. The figurative sense of giving way to a stronger opponent, or admitting oneself beaten, is already in the Académie's 1762 edition.
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.
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