Manger à tous les râteliers
Meaning: To take advantage from all sides at once, with no loyalty to any.
Language: French
Literally: To eat from every hay rack
Category: Animals
Origin: The râtelier is the rack a stabled animal feeds from, and one animal is expected to have one. Feeding at every rack in the stable is the accusation.
More idioms — Animals
- Une bête de somme — Someone worked relentlessly at heavy, thankless labor.
- Se faire prendre pour un pigeon — To be duped as an easy mark.
- Avoir les portugaises ensablées — To be hard of hearing.
- Laid comme un pou — Extremely ugly.
- Le plancher des vaches — Dry land, as seen from the sea.
- Secouer comme un prunier — To shake someone violently.
More French idioms
- Le marchand de sable est passé — The children are getting sleepy.
- Un pique-nique — A meal eaten outdoors to which everyone contributes.
- Cracher dans la soupe — To disparage the thing that sustains you.
- Trempé comme une soupe — Drenched to the skin.
- Payer rubis sur l'ongle — To pay in full, immediately and to the last penny.
- Faire avancer le schmilblick — To make actual progress on something.
From our tongue twisters
- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. — An 's' / 'si' minefield.
- Dans ta tente ta tante t'attend. — A gentle 'ta / ten / tan / t'' warm-up that sounds faster than it reads.
- Seize chaises sèches sur seize arches sèches. — A relentless collision of 'sei', 'sèch', and 's' — the tongue can't find traction.
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