Être dans de beaux draps

Meaning: To be in a real mess.

Language: French

Literally: To be in fine sheets

Category: Daily Life

Origin: Ironic; 'beaux draps' once evoked being publicly shamed in nothing but one's bedsheets.

More idioms — Daily Life

• Tirer le diable par la queue — To struggle to make ends meet.
• Mettre la charrue avant les bœufs — To do things in the wrong order.
• Tirer son épingle du jeu — To extract yourself cleverly from a tricky situation.
• To burn the midnight oil — To work late into the night.
• To throw a spanner in the works — To sabotage or disrupt a plan.
• A skeleton in the closet — A shameful secret kept hidden.

More French idioms

• Se faire rouler dans la farine — To be conned or deceived.
• Passer du coq à l'âne — To switch topics abruptly and illogically.
• Avoir le melon — To be bigheaded and conceited.
• Avoir le cœur sur la main — To be very generous and giving.
• Être soupe au lait — To be quick-tempered and flare up easily.
• Ne pas être sorti de l'auberge — To be far from done with one's troubles.

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