Tailler des croupières à quelqu'un
Meaning: To harass an opponent and make life difficult for them.
Language: French
Literally: To cut someone's crupper straps
Category: Animals
Origin: The croupière is the strap running under a horse's tail to keep the saddle from sliding forward. A pursuer close enough to cut it is close enough to be a genuine menace, which is the sense the phrase keeps.
More idioms — Animals
- Mettre le pied à l'étrier à quelqu'un — To give someone the help they need to get started.
- Gagner ses éperons — To prove oneself and earn recognition.
- Un mauvais coucheur — A cantankerous, difficult person.
- Ronger son frein — To wait in barely contained impatience.
- Jeter sa gourme — To sow one's wild oats.
- Tirer à hue et à dia — To pull in opposite directions; to work at cross purposes.
More French idioms
- Un cordon-bleu — An outstanding cook.
- Il y a loin de la coupe aux lèvres — Much can still go wrong between intention and result.
- Né avec une cuillère d'argent dans la bouche — Born into wealth and advantage.
- Des économies de bouts de chandelle — Petty economies that save nothing worth having.
- Un étouffe-chrétien — Food so dense and stodgy it is hard to swallow.
- Mettre de l'eau dans son vin — To moderate one's demands or soften one's position.
From our untranslatable words
- L'esprit de l'escalier — Thinking of the perfect comeback only after the moment has passed — on your way down the…
- Terroir — The unique character that a place — its soil, climate and tradition — gives to a wine or…
- Râler — To complain and grumble with a certain national flair — a beloved French pastime.
Browse all untranslatable words →
Loading the full interactive collection…