Se mettre au vert
Meaning: To retreat to the countryside to rest or lie low.
Language: French
Literally: To put oneself to the green
Category: Nature
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 idioms — Nature
- Une volée de bois vert — A severe and public dressing-down.
- Le ventre mou — The weakest and most exposed part of something.
- Avoir le vent en poupe — To be doing very well; everything is going your way.
- Avoir la tête dans les nuages — To be a daydreamer; out of touch with reality.
- Jeter de l'huile sur le feu — To make a bad situation worse.
- faire la pluie et le beau temps — Having complete control over a situation or someone's fate.
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.
- Un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l'auras — A certain small gain beats a larger promised one.
- Mieux vaut tenir que courir — Better to keep what you have than chase what you might get.
From our proverbs
- He loseth nothing who keeps God for his friend. — Divine friendship guarantees ultimate gain despite earthly losses, since God's favor tran…
- Make not thy friend too cheap to thee, nor thyself to thy friend. — Maintain mutual respect in friendship by valuing both your friend's worth and your own di…
- All are not friends that speak us fair. — Flattery conceals hostile intent; pleasant words alone don't guarantee genuine friendship.
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