Convoquer le ban et l'arrière-ban
Meaning: To call in absolutely everyone available.
Language: French
Literally: To summon the ban and the rear-ban
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Under feudal law the ban was the king's summons to his direct vassals and the arrière-ban extended it to their vassals in turn. Calling both meant mobilizing the last man the realm could produce.
More idioms — Daily Life
- Une république bananière — A corrupt, unstable state run for the benefit of a few private interests.
- Un travail de bénédictin — Painstaking, patient scholarly labor demanding enormous persistence.
- Le benjamin — The youngest member of a family, team or group.
- C'est la Bérézina — A total, chaotic disaster.
- Chercher la petite bête — To nitpick; to hunt for a trivial fault.
- Passer sur le billard — To undergo surgery.
More French idioms
- 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.
- 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.
From our compliments & insults
- Espèce de patate — You dim bulb — a potato being the very picture of inert, unthinking stodginess.
- Quel râleur / quelle râleuse — You never stop moaning — everything is a complaint, nothing is ever good enough.
- Peau de vache — A mean, difficult, and unpleasant person — tough and unyielding like tanned hide.
Browse all compliments & insults →
Loading the full interactive collection…