IdiomBody & Senses
French
FrenchClouer le bec à quelqu'un
Meaning: To silence someone completely, usually with an unanswerable reply.
Literally: To nail someone's beak shut
Example: “Sa réponse pleine d'esprit a cloué le bec au critique.” — Her witty reply left the critic with nothing to say.
Origin: Bec for the human mouth is old and dismissive, treating the talker as a squawking bird. Nailing it shut is a deliberately brutal image for an argument that leaves no possible response.
More French idioms
- Aux calendes grecques Never — used of something postponed indefinitely.
- Un cautère sur une jambe de bois A remedy that is completely useless.
- Scier la branche sur laquelle on est assis To destroy the thing your own position depends on.
- Tomber de Charybde en Scylla To escape one danger only to meet a worse one.
- Proposer la botte à quelqu'un To proposition someone sexually.
- Pousser le bouchon un peu loin To go too far; to overstep.
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