IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchÉpater la galerie
Meaning: To show off for the benefit of onlookers.
Literally: To astound the gallery
Example: “Il a commandé le vin le plus cher de la carte juste pour épater la galerie.” — He ordered the most expensive wine on the list just to play to the gallery.
English equivalent: To play to the gallery
Equivalents in other languages
Swedish: spel för galleriet Literally: Play for the gallery
English: play to the gallery
Origin: The galerie is the spectators, the term coming from the covered gallery where they watched jeu de paume. It implies the performance is for the watchers rather than the game.
More French idioms
- Mettre le grappin sur quelque chose To get one's hooks into something and not let go.
- De gré ou de force Willingly or unwillingly; one way or another.
- Le Grenelle de quelque chose A large multi-party negotiation convened to settle a national issue.
- C'est de l'hébreu It is completely incomprehensible.
- Vieux comme Hérode Extremely ancient.
- Un combat homérique A struggle of epic scale and duration.
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