Reprendre du poil de la bête
Meaning: To recover one's strength or spirit after a setback; to bounce back.
Language: French
Literally: To take back some hair of the beast
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: Rooted in an old folk-medicine belief that a hair from the animal that bit you could help cure the wound — the same origin as the English 'hair of the dog'.
More idioms — Body & Senses
- Tomber dans les pommes — Suddenly losing consciousness — possibly derived from the older expression 'être dans les…
- Avoir la moutarde qui monte au nez — To be getting angry.
- Couper les cheveux en quatre — To over-analyze or split hairs.
- Se regarder le nombril — To be self-centered or narcissistic.
- Tomaten auf den Augen haben — To be oblivious to what's right in front of you.
- Die Daumen drücken — To wish someone good luck (like crossing fingers).
More French idioms
- Arriver comme un cheveu sur la soupe — To show up at a completely inopportune, awkward moment.
- Jeter le bébé avec l'eau du bain — To discard something valuable while getting rid of what's unwanted.
- C'est l'hôpital qui se fout de la charité — Said when someone criticizes another for a flaw they share themselves; the pot calling th…
- Ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard — It's nothing special or impressive.
- C'est comme pisser dans un violon — A completely pointless effort.
- Avoir le cafard — To feel depressed or down.
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