Nourri dans le sérail

Literally: Raised in the seraglio

Example: “Nourri dans le sérail du parti, il connaît toutes les ficelles des congrès.” — Brought up inside the party, he knows the ropes of every convention.

English equivalent: To know the ropes

Origin: Sérail dates from the end of the 14th century, from Turco-Persian seräi, a palace — the same word inside caravansérail, the halting place for caravans — and it covered both an Ottoman sultan's palace and a harem. The phrase is Racine's, from Bajazet, where the grand vizier Acomat tells Osmin that the palace holds no more secrets for him: nourri dans le sérail, j'en connais les détours. The image needs no unpacking. What is odd is the timing, since it only came into real use in the 19th century, and Claude Duneton has an explanation: by then sérail also meant a brothel, and the idea of a man raised in one will have appealed to an audience that frequented both the maisons closes and the theaters, at a moment when Racine was enjoying a revival.