IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchGlisser une peau de banane
Meaning: To engineer someone's public downfall.
Literally: To slip someone a banana skin
Example: “Le conseiller a glissé une peau de banane au candidat en divulguant ses vieux tweets.” — The adviser threw the candidate under the bus by leaking his old tweets.
Origin: The banana skin arrived in French from silent-film comedy, where it was the standard mechanism for an undignified fall. It implies humiliation rather than serious damage.
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- La portion congrue A bare minimum, grudgingly given.
- Saoul comme un Polonais Extremely drunk.
- Défendre son pré carré To protect one's own territory or area of authority.
- Lâcher la proie pour l'ombre To give up something real in pursuit of something illusory.
- Une victoire à la Pyrrhus A win whose cost makes it indistinguishable from defeat.
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