réduire la voilure
Meaning: To cut back on spending, resources, or ambitions.
Language: French
Literally: to reduce the sail
Category: Nature
Origin: The image comes from sailing: when a ship reduces its sails, it slows and travels more cautiously, just as reducing resources scales back an operation.
More idioms — Nature
- faire florès — To achieve success and build a reputation.
- fuir comme la peste — To avoid something or someone as much as possible.
- tomber à l’eau — To be canceled or abandoned.
- battre les fourrés — To range far and wide in search of adventure or chance encounters.
- prendre le maquis — To go into hiding or join a resistance movement to escape authority or persecution.
- remuer ciel et terre — To exert all possible effort and use every available means to achieve a goal.
More French idioms
- être dos au mur — To be in a desperate situation with no way to retreat or escape.
- se mettre la rate au court-bouillon — To worry pointlessly and obsessively over something.
- prendre à la gorge — To seize someone or something forcefully; to make breathing or speech difficult; to trigg…
- regarder la pointe de ses souliers — To lower one's eyes in embarrassment or shame.
- chercher des misères — To deliberately provoke a quarrel with someone.
- beurrer épais — To exaggerate or overdo something.
From our compliments & insults
- Joli comme un cœur — Utterly charming or adorable.
- Tu as un cœur d'or — You are genuinely kind and generous.
- Tu déchires — You're awesome — you totally rock.