IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchBon sang !
Meaning: Good grief — an exclamation of exasperation.
Literally: Good blood!
Example: “Bon sang ! J'ai encore oublié mes lunettes.” — Good grief! I forgot my glasses again.
English equivalent: Good grief
Equivalents in other languages
English: good grief!
Origin: A minced oath: the original was par le sang de Dieu, and blasphemy laws made softening it prudent. Palsambleu is the same oath compressed and disguised the same way.
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- Une chasse aux sorcières A campaign of persecution driven by suspicion rather than evidence.
- Pas besoin de sortir de Saint-Cyr It doesn't take a genius to work that out.
- Faire table rase To sweep everything away and start from nothing.
- Prendre le taureau par les cornes To tackle a difficulty head-on instead of avoiding it.
- Les vaches maigres A period of hardship and scarcity — the opposite of les vaches grasses.
- Les vaches grasses A period of plenty.
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