Botter en touche
Meaning: To dodge a question by changing the subject.
Language: French
Literally: To kick into touch
Category: Daily Life
Origin: In rugby, kicking the ball off the field stops play and relieves pressure without gaining anything. It is the standard French verdict on a politician's answer.
More idioms — Daily Life
- Une tour d'ivoire — A position of deliberate detachment from ordinary life.
- La tournée des grands-ducs — A lavish night out taking in every fashionable establishment.
- Un coup de Trafalgar — A sudden catastrophic reversal, often felt to be underhand.
- Doré sur tranche — Extremely wealthy; luxuriously appointed.
- Le bout du tunnel — The first sign that a long difficulty is ending.
- Brûler ses vaisseaux — To destroy any possibility of retreat.
More French idioms
- Vérité en deçà des Pyrénées, erreur au-delà — What counts as true depends on which side of a border you stand.
- Un vieux de la vieille — A veteran of long standing.
- En quatrième vitesse — At top speed; as fast as possible.
- Au temps pour moi — My mistake.
- 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.
From our false friends
- Ignorer — Actually means 'to be unaware of' or 'not to know'. J'ignore la réponse = I don't know th…
- Déception — Actually means 'disappointment'. For deception (a trick), say tromperie.
- Monnaie — Actually means 'change' or 'coins'. Money in general is l'argent.
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