IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchL'argent n'a pas d'odeur
Meaning: Money is money regardless of how disreputably it was earned.
Literally: Money has no smell
Example: “Il vend des armes et répète que l'argent n'a pas d'odeur.” — He sells weapons and keeps saying that money is money, wherever it comes from.
Origin: From the emperor Vespasian, who taxed the urine collected from Rome's public latrines for use in tanning. When his son objected to the source, he held a coin to the boy's nose and asked whether it smelled — pecunia non olet.
More French idioms
- De bon augure A promising sign; its opposite, de mauvais augure, means ominous.
- Mesurer à l'aune de To judge something by a particular standard.
- L'avocat du diable Someone who argues a position they do not hold in order to test it.
- Dans tous les azimuts In every direction at once; scattered and unfocused.
- Une tour de Babel A place of hopeless confusion, especially one where nobody speaks the same language.
- Plier bagage To pack up and clear off, usually in a hurry.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- L'avenir appartient à ceux qui se lèvent tôt Early risers, and hard workers in general, are the ones who succeed.
- Quand le vin est tiré, il faut le boire Once you have committed to something, you have to go through with it.
- Un malheur ne vient jamais seul Misfortunes tend to come several at once.
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