Blanchir sous le harnais
Meaning: To grow old in a profession.
Language: French
Literally: To grow white under the harness
Category: Nature
Origin: The harnais is armor rather than horse tack, so the figure is of a soldier whose hair has gone grey inside it. It implies long service and, usually, that it went unrewarded.
More idioms — Nature
- Entre le marteau et l'enclume — Caught between two opposing forces with no way out.
- Un pavé dans la mare — A revelation or intervention that disturbs a settled situation.
- Il y a de l'orage dans l'air — Trouble is brewing.
- Rouler sur l'or — To be enormously wealthy.
- Valoir son pesant d'or — To be extremely valuable.
- Pierre qui roule n'amasse pas mousse — Constant movement prevents anything from accumulating.
More French idioms
- De fil en aiguille — One thing leading to another.
- Un fil d'Ariane — A guiding thread through something impossibly complicated.
- En file indienne — In single file, one behind another.
- La fin justifie les moyens — A worthwhile goal excuses whatever it takes to reach it.
- Conter fleurette — To woo someone with sweet talk.
- Des manœuvres florentines — Devious, elaborately indirect political scheming.
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.
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