IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchMarquer à la culotte
Meaning: To watch someone so closely they cannot move freely.
Literally: To mark at the shorts
Example: “Son chef le marque à la culotte depuis son erreur de facturation.” — His boss has been breathing down his neck since his billing mistake.
English equivalent: To breathe down someone's neck
Equivalents in other languages
Turkish: İki ayağını bir pabuca sokmak Literally: To stuff someone's two feet into one shoe
English: breathe down someone's neck
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 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.
- Crier haro sur le baudet To denounce someone publicly and unanimously.
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