C'est la Bérézina
Meaning: A total, chaotic disaster.
Language: French
Literally: It's the Berezina
Category: Daily Life
Origin: From the crossing of the Berezina river in November 1812 during Napoleon's retreat from Russia. The army got across on hastily built bridges under fire and lost tens of thousands doing it — a technical feat remembered as a catastrophe.
More idioms — Daily Life
- Chercher la petite bête — To nitpick; to hunt for a trivial fault.
- Passer sur le billard — To undergo surgery.
- Se faire blackbouler — To be rejected, voted down or heavily defeated in an election.
- Une arme blanche — A bladed weapon, as opposed to a firearm.
- Blanchir de l'argent — To launder money.
- Au petit bonheur la chance — Haphazardly, leaving the outcome entirely to chance.
More French idioms
- Avoir la bosse de — To have a natural gift for something, as in avoir la bosse des maths.
- Rabattre le caquet à quelqu'un — To shut someone up; to take an insolent person down a peg.
- Caracoler en tête — To lead by a wide margin, especially in a race or in polls.
- Muet comme une carpe — Completely silent; saying absolutely nothing.
- La caque sent toujours le hareng — However far you rise, low origins always show through.
- Aller à Canossa — To humble oneself completely before someone; to submit and beg forgiveness.
From our proverbs
- March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb — Harsh beginnings soften with patience; turbulent starts often yield to gentle endings thr…
- Marry in haste, repent at leisure — (by extension) Joining (or merging) two things together too soon will lead to problems.
- Misfortunes never come alone — Troubles compound—when one disaster strikes, others typically follow in succession.
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