Se défendre bec et ongles
Meaning: To fight back with everything you have.
Language: French
Literally: To defend oneself with beak and nails
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: From a cornered bird of prey using both beak and talons — the French equivalent of fighting tooth and nail. Attested since the 16th century and originally applied to animals before transferring to people.
More idioms — Body & Senses
- Connaître bibliquement — To have had sex with someone.
- Se faire de la bile — To worry oneself sick.
- Dans le plus simple appareil — Stark naked.
- 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.
More French idioms
- L'arbre qui cache la forêt — A conspicuous detail that distracts attention from the larger reality behind it.
- Jeter son bonnet par-dessus les moulins — To throw propriety to the wind and stop caring what people think.
- Un baroud d'honneur — A last stand fought for honor when defeat is already certain.
- Un ange passe — Said to acknowledge a sudden awkward silence in a conversation.
- Être aux anges — To be overjoyed, in raptures.
- Être aux abonnés absents — To be unreachable, or to fail to show up when needed.
From our proverbs
- Clothes don't make the man — External appearances cannot determine a person's true character, integrity, or worth.
- Cool heads must prevail — Rational thinking, not emotional impulse, resolves conflicts and prevents disaster.
- Dance with the one that brung ya — Loyalty to those who supported you initially matters more than chasing new opportunities.
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