IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchFaire main basse sur quelque chose
Meaning: To seize something wholesale.
Literally: To make low hand on something
Example: “Un fonds étranger a fait main basse sur les vignobles de la région.” — A foreign fund has snapped up the vineyards in the region.
Origin: Main basse was the order to lower the sword and give no quarter, so the phrase begins in massacre rather than theft. Modern use is almost entirely financial.
More French idioms
- Des yeux de merlan frit A soppy, languishing look.
- Payer en monnaie de singe To pay with worthless promises instead of money.
- La montagne accouche d'une souris A vast effort or grand announcement produces something trivial.
- La mouche du coche Someone who bustles importantly while contributing nothing.
- On n'attrape pas les mouches avec du vinaigre Gentleness achieves what harshness cannot.
- Prendre la mouche To take sudden and disproportionate offense.
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