IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchFaire son deuil de quelque chose
Meaning: To accept that something is lost and give up on it.
Literally: To make one's mourning for something
Example: “Avec cette pluie, on peut faire notre deuil du pique-nique.” — With this rain, we can kiss the picnic goodbye.
English equivalent: To kiss something goodbye
Equivalents in other languages
German: zu Grabe tragen Literally: To carry to the grave
English: kiss something goodbye
Origin: Deuil is the formal mourning period, so the phrase treats a surrendered hope with the same finality as a death. It is stronger than merely giving up — it means processing the loss and closing it.
More French idioms
- Se la couler douce To take life very easy indeed.
- Des mesures draconiennes Punishingly severe rules.
- Péter une durite To lose one's temper completely.
- À l'eau de rose Insipidly sentimental, especially of fiction.
- L'échapper belle To have a narrow escape.
- Faire l'école buissonnière To play truant.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- Tel est pris qui croyait prendre Those who set traps for others often fall into them themselves.
- À chacun son métier, et les vaches seront bien gardées Things go best when everyone sticks to what they know.
- Pas à pas on va bien loin Slow, steady progress takes you a long way.
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