IdiomAnimals
French
FrenchPayer en monnaie de singe
Meaning: To pay with worthless promises instead of money.
Literally: To pay in monkey money
Example: “Les ouvriers du chantier ont été payés en monnaie de singe : des promesses et rien d'autre.” — The construction workers were paid in empty promises and nothing else.
Origin: A medieval Paris ordinance let traveling entertainers cross the Petit-Pont toll-free if they made their monkey perform for the keeper. The performance discharged the debt, which is exactly what the phrase now accuses someone of offering.
More French idioms
- Les moutons de Panurge People who follow the crowd without thinking.
- Charger la mule To pile on far too much; to overcharge someone.
- Ne pas valoir un pet de lapin To be entirely worthless.
- C'est la mer à boire It is an impossible or endless task — most often used in the negative.
- Faire son miel de quelque chose To turn something to one's own advantage.
- La substantifique moelle The essential substance of something, reached only by real effort.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- Épanouissement The full flourishing of a person — blooming into your most complete, radiant self. More t…
- Ressourcement The act of returning to one's roots or origins to find renewal — going back to a place, t…
- Dépaysement The disorienting yet often pleasant feeling of being far from home, immersed in the unfam…
Keep exploring