IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchSans crier gare
Meaning: Without any warning at all.
Literally: Without crying look-out
Example: “Le toit s'est effondré sans crier gare.” — The roof collapsed out of the blue.
English equivalent: Out of the blue
Other ways to say this
Ukrainian: Як сніг на голову (Yak snih na holovu) Literally: Like snow on the head
English: out of the blue- French: De but en blanc Literally: From butt to white
Origin: Gare! was the shout of warning in a street or a workshop, the ancestor of the modern gare à toi. Doing something without it means giving no one the chance to get out of the way.
More French idioms
- De gré ou de force Willingly or unwillingly; one way or another.
- Le Grenelle de quelque chose A large multi-party negotiation convened to settle a national issue.
- C'est de l'hébreu It is completely incomprehensible.
- Vieux comme Hérode Extremely ancient.
- Un combat homérique A struggle of epic scale and duration.
- Un homme averti en vaut deux Advance warning doubles a person's effectiveness.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
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- Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. The classic French 'ch' / 's' tangler.
- Les chaussettes de l'archiduchesse sont-elles sèches, archi-sèches? A merciless duel between 'ch' and 's'.
- Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cents scies scient six cents cyprès. An 's' / 'si' minefield.
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