Couper l'herbe sous le pied de quelqu'un
Meaning: To forestall someone by acting first.
Language: French
Literally: To cut the grass from under someone's foot
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: The footing is removed before the step is completed, so the loss is of position rather than of the contest itself. It implies speed rather than force.
More idioms — Body & Senses
- Ne pas mâcher ses mots — To speak with complete bluntness.
- Il faut tourner sept fois sa langue dans sa bouche avant de parler — Think carefully before you speak.
- En avoir gros sur le cœur — To be full of unspoken hurt or resentment.
- En son for intérieur — In one's heart of hearts; in private conscience.
- Être médusé — To be struck dumb with astonishment.
- Motus et bouche cousue — Not a word to anyone.
More French idioms
- À la Saint-Glinglin — Never — on a day that will never come.
- Une guerre picrocholine — A furious conflict over something trivial.
- Est-ce que je te demande si ta grand-mère fait du vélo ? — Mind your own business — a retort to an intrusive question.
- Décrocher la lune — To achieve the impossible — or, promised, to offer what cannot be delivered.
- Tomber comme à Gravelotte — To come down thick and fast, of rain or of blows.
- Veiller au grain — To stay alert for trouble.
From our untranslatable words
- Épanouissement — The full flourishing of a person — blooming into your most complete, radiant self. More t…
- Ressourcement — The act of returning to one's roots or origins to find renewal — going back to a place, t…
- Dépaysement — The disorienting yet often pleasant feeling of being far from home, immersed in the unfam…
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