Brûler ses vaisseaux
Meaning: To destroy any possibility of retreat.
Language: French
Literally: To burn one's ships
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Attributed to Cortés at Veracruz in 1519, though he ran his ships aground rather than burning them, and the tactic is far older — Agathocles did it in Sicily in 310 BC. The point in every version is that the decision is made for the men, not by them.
More idioms — Daily Life
- 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.
- Pédaler dans la semoule — To be confused and getting nowhere.
- Avoir d'autres chats à fouetter — To have more important things to do.
More French idioms
- 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.
- Poser un lapin — To stand someone up on a date.
- Tomber dans les pommes — Suddenly losing consciousness — possibly derived from the older expression 'être dans les…
- Avoir la moutarde qui monte au nez — To be getting angry.
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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