C'est dans mes cordes
Meaning: It is within my competence; I can handle that.
Language: French
Literally: It is in my strings
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Musical, and once literal. The Académie française's 1832 dictionary records corde as meaning a note or a pitch, by way of the vocal cords, and Littré cites a singer's voice being fine dans les cordes élevées (in the high notes). A piece of music therefore lay within a performer's cordes if their range and technique could actually carry it — a plain statement about what a voice could do. From there it spread to every other domain, so that any task is dans vos cordes if you have what it takes to see it through.
More idioms — Daily Life
- Filer un mauvais coton — To be going downhill — in health, or in one's situation generally.
- Tirer son coup — For a man, to have an orgasm. Vulgar.
- Pédaler dans la semoule — To be confused and getting nowhere.
- Avoir d'autres chats à fouetter — To have more important things to do.
- Avoir le cul entre deux chaises — To be indecisive, caught between two options.
- Les carottes sont cuites — It's too late, nothing can be done.
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 tongue twisters
- Un beau ver vert dans un verre vert verra un ver vert. — Ver (worm), vert (green), and verre (glass) are near-homophones — distinguishing them at…
- Didon dîna, dit-on, du dos d'un dodu dindon dont le dodu dos dodine. — A 'd' / 'din' / 'dod' avalanche that seems designed to jam the tongue in third gear.
- Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. — The classic French 'ch' / 's' tangler.
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