L'alpha et l'oméga
Meaning: The beginning and the end; the entirety of something, or its essential principle.
Language: French
Literally: The alpha and the omega
Category: Daily Life
Origin: From Revelation, where God declares himself the Alpha and the Omega — the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, so the whole of it and everything between.
More idioms — Daily Life
- Vendre son âme au diable — To sacrifice one's principles for power, wealth or success.
- Faire amende honorable — To publicly admit you were wrong and apologize.
- Bon an, mal an — On average, taking the good years with the bad; year in, year out.
- Le libre arbitre — Free will — the capacity to choose independently of compulsion.
- L'argent n'a pas d'odeur — Money is money regardless of how disreputably it was earned.
- Une Arlésienne — A person or thing endlessly talked about but who never actually appears.
More French idioms
- Signer son arrêt de mort — To take an action that guarantees your own downfall.
- Un homme de l'art — A qualified professional, especially a physician.
- C'est du grand art — That is masterfully done.
- L'enfance de l'art — Utterly elementary; child's play.
- À l'article de la mort — At the very point of dying.
- De bon augure — A promising sign; its opposite, de mauvais augure, means ominous.
From our proverbs
- Fortune favors the daring — Bold action, not hesitation, opens doors that caution leaves permanently closed.
- God doesn't give with both hands — Divine bounty always comes mixed with limitation, ensuring we appreciate gifts rather tha…
- Go hard or go home — Commit fully to your efforts or abandon the attempt entirely; half-measures waste time an…
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