IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchFiler à l'anglaise
Meaning: To leave discreetly without saying goodbye.
Literally: To slip away English-style
Example: “Il a filé à l'anglaise avant la fin de la soirée.” — He slipped out before the end of the party without saying goodbye.
English equivalent: To take French leave
Origin: A jab at the neighbors, and probably a reply. English was already saying "to take French leave" in the 18th century, for slipping away from a party without saying goodbye, and Wiktionnaire describes the 19th-century French filer à l'anglaise as probably an alteration of it, turned back against the English. Each nation, in other words, credits the other with the bad manners.
Equivalents in other languages
English: take French leave
More French idioms
- Les doigts dans le nez To do something with the greatest of ease.
- Avoir un cœur d'artichaut To fall in love easily and often.
- Avoir le bras long To have influence and useful connections.
- Découvrir le pot aux roses To uncover a hidden secret.
- Être dans de beaux draps To be in a real mess.
- Se faire rouler dans la farine To be conned or deceived.
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