Marquer à la culotte
Meaning: To watch someone so closely they cannot move freely.
Language: French
Literally: To mark at the shorts
Category: Daily Life
Origin: From football, where a defender marks an opponent tightly enough to be within reach of his shorts. It transferred to surveillance of employees and politicians without losing the sense of physical proximity.
More idioms — Daily Life
- Revoir sa copie — To go back and rework a proposal that has been rejected.
- De fil en aiguille — One thing leading to another.
- Un fil d'Ariane — A guiding thread through something impossibly complicated.
- En file indienne — In single file, one behind another.
- La fin justifie les moyens — A worthwhile goal excuses whatever it takes to reach it.
- Conter fleurette — To woo someone with sweet talk.
More French idioms
- Ronger son frein — To wait in barely contained impatience.
- Jeter sa gourme — To sow one's wild oats.
- Tirer à hue et à dia — To pull in opposite directions; to work at cross purposes.
- Une grenouille de bénitier — A woman conspicuously and tiresomely devout.
- Faire le pied de grue — To stand around waiting for a long time.
- Une hirondelle ne fait pas le printemps — A single encouraging sign does not prove a trend.
From our false friends
- Phrase — Actually means 'sentence'. For a short phrase or expression, say une expression.
- Ignorer — Actually means 'to be unaware of' or 'not to know'. J'ignore la réponse = I don't know th…
- Déception — Actually means 'disappointment'. For deception (a trick), say tromperie.
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