faire le mort
Meaning: To lie low; to give no sign of life and avoid drawing attention.
Language: French
Literally: to play the dead man
Example: “Depuis qu'il me doit de l'argent, il fait le mort : il ne répond plus à mes messages.” — Ever since he started owing me money, he's been lying low: he doesn't answer my messages anymore.
English equivalent: To lie low
Category: Animals
Origin: From card games: the player who had laid down their hand, the "dead man," took no further part in the play, and in tarot with too many players, sitting out a deal in turn is still called faire le mort. The figurative sense followed: going quiet and giving no sign of life, whether by choice or by cunning, to stay out of trouble.
Other ways to say this
- French: Se mettre au vert — literally: To put oneself to the green
- English: lie low
More idioms — Animals
- montrer les dents — Displaying aggression, defiance, or readiness to fight.
- être un ours — Being unfriendly, grumpy, and difficult to approach socially.
- avoir une mémoire d'éléphant — Having exceptional ability to remember details over time.
- avoir une langue de vipère — Speaking maliciously, spreading rumors, or being verbally cruel.
- faire ses griffes — Practicing or preparing oneself for a challenging task or confrontation.
- jemandem einen Bären aufbinden — To tell someone a deliberate lie or deceptive story for amusement or manipulation.
More French idioms
- ravaler ses paroles — To take back what one has said; also, to hold back words one was about to say.
- mettre l'eau à la bouche — Making someone crave or desire something through temptation.
- avoir la grosse tête — Being arrogant, conceited, or thinking highly of oneself.
- tremper son biscuit — Engaging in a brief romantic or intimate encounter.
- faire un bide — Experiencing complete failure or lack of success.
- avoir la chair de poule — Experiencing fear, cold, or emotional reaction causing skin reaction.
From our tongue twisters
- 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.
- Dans ta tente ta tante t'attend. — A gentle 'ta / ten / tan / t'' warm-up that sounds faster than it reads.