IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchFumer le calumet de la paix
Meaning: To make peace after a quarrel.
Literally: To smoke the peace pipe
Example: “Après des années de brouille, les deux frères ont fumé le calumet de la paix à Noël.” — After years of not speaking, the two brothers smoked the peace pipe at Christmas.
English equivalent: To smoke the peace pipe
Equivalents in other languages
English: smoke the peace pipe
Origin: The calumet was the ceremonial pipe used by several Native American nations to seal agreements, described by French explorers in the 17th century — calumet itself is a Norman French word for a reed. The gesture entered European usage as shorthand for formal reconciliation.
More French idioms
- Tourner casaque To switch sides or change allegiance.
- Retourner sa veste To change one's allegiance opportunistically.
- Coiffer Sainte Catherine To reach twenty-five while still unmarried — said of a woman.
- Être sujet à caution To be unreliable; not to be taken at face value.
- Caviarder un texte To censor a piece of writing by blacking out passages.
- Se serrer la ceinture To economize and go without.
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