IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchRester sur le carreau
Meaning: To be knocked out of the running; to be left for dead.
Literally: To be left on the tiling
Example: “Sur les vingt start-up du salon, la moitié sont restées sur le carreau en un an.” — Of the twenty startups at the fair, half fell by the wayside within a year.
English equivalent: To fall by the wayside
Equivalents in other languages
English: fall by the wayside
Origin: The carreau is the tiled floor, where the loser of a fight ends up. It was used of duels and brawls before spreading to anyone eliminated from a competition or a job.
More French idioms
- Caviarder un texte To censor a piece of writing by blacking out passages.
- Se serrer la ceinture To economize and go without.
- La femme de César ne doit pas être soupçonnée Those in public office must be above even the appearance of wrongdoing.
- Se réduire comme une peau de chagrin To dwindle away steadily until nothing is left.
- Appuyer sur le champignon To accelerate hard; to floor it.
- Devoir une fière chandelle à quelqu'un To owe someone a considerable debt of gratitude.
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