FrenchContre vents et marées
Meaning: In the face of every obstacle.
Literally: Against winds and tides
Example: “Contre vents et marées, elle a maintenu sa petite épicerie ouverte.” — Come hell or high water, she kept her little grocery store open.
English equivalent: Come hell or high water
Equivalents in other languages
English: come hell or high water
Spanish: a pesar de los pesares Literally: In spite of the sorrows
Origin: Both forces are beyond negotiation and neither can simply be waited out, which is what makes the pairing exhaustive — any sailor knows wind and tide can push a boat off its heading, and a good one keeps sailing for the destination anyway. The phrase dates to the start of the 17th century, and French once had its mirror image: from the 16th to the 19th century, avoir vent et marée meant having everything running in your favor, used literally at sea and figuratively everywhere else. Only the version about persisting through obstacles survived.
More French idioms
- Rendre son tablier To resign, usually in protest.
- Sans tambour ni trompette Discreetly, without any announcement.
- Prendre la tangente To slip away, or to dodge a question.
- Partir à Tataouine To be packed off somewhere remote and unpleasant.
- Mieux vaut tenir que courir Better to keep what you have than chase what you might get.
- Un travail de Titan An undertaking of enormous scale.
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