IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchNe connaître ni d'Ève ni d'Adam
Meaning: Not to know someone at all.
Literally: To know neither from Eve nor from Adam
Example: “Un homme que je ne connais ni d'Ève ni d'Adam m'a salué dans la rue.” — A man I didn't know from Adam greeted me in the street.
English equivalent: Not to know someone from Adam
Equivalents in other languages
English: not know someone from Adam
Origin: The reference is to the first humans, so not knowing someone by either line means having no connection whatsoever. English keeps half of it in not knowing someone from Adam.
More French idioms
- Avoir le feu sacré To be driven by genuine, burning vocation.
- Être tout feu tout flamme To be full of ardent enthusiasm.
- Faire fi de quelque chose To scorn something; to dismiss it as beneath notice.
- Des grosses ficelles Crude, obvious tricks that fool nobody.
- Cousu de fil blanc So obvious that the deception is plainly visible.
- Mettre le doigt dans l'engrenage To take a first small step that drags you into something far larger.
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