IdiomNature
French
FrenchSe mettre au vert
Meaning: To retreat to the countryside to rest or lie low.
Literally: To put oneself to the green
Example: “Après le scandale, le chanteur s'est mis au vert dans une ferme en Bretagne.” — After the scandal, the singer lay low on a farm in Brittany.
English equivalent: To lie low
Other ways to say this
- French: Faire le mort Literally: To play the dead man
English: lie low
Origin: Originally said of a horse turned out to pasture to recover its condition. It kept both senses — genuine rest, and getting out of sight for a while.
More French idioms
- Rendre son tablier To resign, usually in protest.
- Sans tambour ni trompette Discreetly, without any announcement.
- Prendre la tangente To slip away, or to dodge a question.
- Partir à Tataouine To be packed off somewhere remote and unpleasant.
- Mieux vaut tenir que courir Better to keep what you have than chase what you might get.
- Un travail de Titan An undertaking of enormous scale.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- Faute d'un point, Martin perdit son âne A tiny mistake can cost you dearly.
- Après la pluie, le beau temps Bad times are followed by good ones.
- Il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué Don't count on a gain before you actually have it.
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