IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchEnvoyer paître
Meaning: To tell someone to get lost.
Literally: To send someone off to graze
Example: “Le démarcheur a insisté, alors ma grand-mère l'a envoyé paître.” — The salesman kept pushing, so my grandmother sent him packing.
English equivalent: To send someone packing
Equivalents in other languages
Russian: гнать в три шеи (gnat' v tri shei) Literally: To chase in three necks
English: send someone packing
Origin: Sending a person to pasture treats them as livestock to be put somewhere out of the way. It is dismissive rather than aggressive, which is precisely its use.
More French idioms
- Le haut du pavé The most privileged position in society.
- Mettre pavillon bas To admit defeat.
- Dire pis que pendre de quelqu'un To speak extremely ill of someone.
- Remettre les pendules à l'heure To set the record straight and restore order.
- Ce n'est pas le Pérou It is not a fortune; it is nothing to get excited about.
- Un pétard mouillé A revelation that was supposed to explode and did not.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- Il faut hurler avec les loups To get along, you sometimes have to go along with the people around you.
- C'est en forgeant qu'on devient forgeron You learn a skill by practicing it.
- L'union fait la force People who stand together are stronger than any of them alone.
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