Découvrir le pot aux roses

Meaning: To uncover a hidden secret.

Language: French

Literally: To discover the pot of roses

Category: Nature

Origin: Debated; possibly from medieval rose-water and cosmetic pots that concealed secrets, the phrase is attested since the 13th century.

More idioms — Nature

• Once in a blue moon — Very rarely.
• To break the ice — To ease the initial tension in a social situation.
• To give a wide berth — To keep well away from someone or something.
• Echar leña al fuego — To make a bad situation worse.
• Prendere lucciole per lanterne — To be completely and badly mistaken.
• Ficar a ver navios — To be left disappointed and empty-handed.

More French idioms

• Être dans de beaux draps — To be in a real mess.
• Se faire rouler dans la farine — To be conned or deceived.
• Tirer le diable par la queue — To struggle to make ends meet.
• Passer du coq à l'âne — To switch topics abruptly and illogically.
• Avoir le melon — To be bigheaded and conceited.
• Mettre la charrue avant les bœufs — To do things in the wrong order.

← Back to Idioms

Loading the full interactive collection…