Faire d'une pierre deux coups
Meaning: To kill two birds with one stone.
Language: French
Literally: To make two blows with one stone
Category: Daily Life
Origin: French version of the universal efficiency proverb, 17th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- Korean: 꿩 먹고 알 먹고 (Kkwong meokgo al meokgo) — literally: Eating the pheasant and its egg too
- Italian: Prendere due piccioni con una fava — literally: To catch two pigeons with one fava bean
- Indonesian: Sambil menyelam minum air — literally: While diving, drink water
- Chinese: 一箭双雕 (Yī jiàn shuāng diāo) — literally: One arrow, two hawks
- English: kill two birds with one stone
More idioms — Daily Life
- être sur des charbons ardents — Being extremely anxious or impatient about something.
- avoir un tuyau — Having inside information or a useful tip about something.
- être à court de — Lacking or running low on something essential.
- crier sur les toits — Announcing something publicly that should remain secret.
- avoir un poisson d'avril — Being fooled by a prank or hoax on April 1st.
- être aux petits soins — Receiving attentive, careful treatment and consideration from someone.
More French idioms
- Faire d'une mouche un éléphant — To make a mountain out of a molehill; to exaggerate wildly.
- avoir des fourmis — Experiencing a tingling or prickling sensation in a limb losing circulation.
- avoir un chat dans la gorge — Having difficulty speaking due to hoarseness or a sore throat.
- se battre contre les moulins à vent — Fighting a hopeless battle against something immovable or pointless.
- faire ses choux gras — Profiting greatly from a situation at someone else's expense.
- avoir un bleu — Having a bruise on the skin from impact or injury.
From our tongue twisters
- Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. — The classic French 'ch' / 's' tangler.
- Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? — A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.
- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. — An 's' / 'si' minefield.
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