IdiomDaily LifeFrench

Mettre à l'index

Meaning: To blacklist something or exclude it from acceptable use.

Literally: To put on the index

Example: “Après le scandale, plusieurs pays ont mis la marque à l'index.” — After the scandal, several countries blacklisted the brand.

Origin: From the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, the Catholic register of forbidden books maintained from 1559 until it was abolished in 1966. Nothing to do with the finger, though the two words share a root.

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