Bon vent !
Meaning: Safe travels — or, said in the right tone, good riddance.
Language: French
Literally: Fair wind!
Category: Nature
Origin: It comes from the age of sail, and it started out entirely sincere: the crew is aboard and about to weigh anchor, and the people left on the quay wish them the wind they will need for an easy passage. From there it broadened into a general goodbye. The second sense is the same words with the warmth removed. Said sharply to someone who has outstayed their welcome, it becomes an antiphrasis inviting them to go and find that wind immediately and put it to use getting somewhere else. Nothing in the phrase distinguishes the two — the entire difference is carried by tone, which is worth remembering before saying it to a colleague.
More idioms — Nature
- Avoir le vent en poupe — To be doing very well; everything is going your way.
- Avoir la tête dans les nuages — To be a daydreamer; out of touch with reality.
- Jeter de l'huile sur le feu — To make a bad situation worse.
- faire la pluie et le beau temps — Having complete control over a situation or someone's fate.
- être une girouette — Being inconsistent, constantly changing opinions or allegiances.
- estar más claro que el agua — Something is obvious, evident, and beyond any doubt or confusion.
More French idioms
- Comme la vérole sur le bas clergé — Suddenly and with great violence — descending on something all at once.
- Des vertes et des pas mûres — Shocking or outrageous things — and, by extension, a very rough time of it.
- Prendre une veste — To suffer a defeat, especially at the polls.
- Ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard — It's nothing special or impressive.
- C'est comme pisser dans un violon — A completely pointless effort.
- Avoir le cafard — To feel depressed or down.
From our false friends
- Monnaie — Actually means 'change' or 'coins'. Money in general is l'argent.
- Sensible — Actually means 'sensitive'. For sensible/level-headed, say raisonnable.
- Librairie — Actually means 'bookshop'. A library is une bibliothèque.
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