Battre sa coulpe
Meaning: To publicly acknowledge one's own wrongdoing.
Language: French
Literally: To beat one's fault
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: Coulpe is culpa, and the phrase describes the gesture accompanying the mea culpa at Mass, in which the penitent strikes the breast. It survives entirely outside religion, usually of politicians.
More idioms — Body & Senses
- Le petit doigt sur la couture du pantalon — Standing rigidly to attention; obeying without question.
- Ôter une épine du pied à quelqu'un — To relieve someone of a persistent difficulty.
- Un écorché vif — Someone painfully hypersensitive to everything around them.
- L'huile de coude — Hard physical effort; elbow grease.
- Couper l'herbe sous le pied de quelqu'un — To forestall someone by acting first.
- Ne pas mâcher ses mots — To speak with complete bluntness.
More French idioms
- Se croire sorti de la cuisse de Jupiter — To have an absurdly high opinion of one's own importance.
- Le tonneau des Danaïdes — A hopeless undertaking that consumes everything and is never finished.
- Au diable vauvert — Miles from anywhere; the back of beyond.
- Il n'y a pas le feu au lac — There's no rush.
- Par l'opération du Saint-Esprit — By some unexplained miracle — said sarcastically of something nobody will account for.
- Au creux de la vague — At a low point, with the expectation that things will rise again.
From our proverbs
- Make the best of a bad bargain. — When stuck with an unfavorable deal, focus energy on maximizing what value remains rather…
- At a great bargain make a great pause. — Suspiciously good deals warrant careful consideration before committing, as hidden costs…
- The greatest barkers are not always the sorest biters. — Loud boasting and threats rarely indicate genuine power or danger; true strength often ac…
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