IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchCherchez la femme
Meaning: There is a woman behind this somewhere.
Literally: Look for the woman
Example: “Le banquier a tout quitté du jour au lendemain ? Cherchez la femme.” — The banker gave up everything overnight? Cherchez la femme.
English equivalent: Cherchez la femme
Origin: From Dumas père's Les Mohicans de Paris, where a detective repeats it as his method for any inexplicable case. It survives as a knowing remark whose knowingness has aged badly.
Equivalents in other languages
English: cherchez la femme
More French idioms
- Des grosses ficelles Crude, obvious tricks that fool nobody.
- Cousu de fil blanc So obvious that the deception is plainly visible.
- Mettre le doigt dans l'engrenage To take a first small step that drags you into something far larger.
- Le dos au feu et le ventre à table In a state of complete physical contentment.
- Marquer à la culotte To watch someone so closely they cannot move freely.
- Revoir sa copie To go back and rework a proposal that has been rejected.
Explore another collection: Compliments & Insults
Compliments and insults from around the world, from the sweet to the savage.
- Courir sur le haricot To get badly on someone's nerves.
- Tu as du chien You have a certain irresistible magnetism — a je-ne-sais-quoi that draws people in.
- Tu as la tête sur les épaules You're grounded, sensible, and dependable — not easily swept off course.
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