talk behind someone's back
Meaning: To say unkind things about someone when they are not present.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “I trusted her, but she's been talking behind my back to the whole office.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Speaking ill of someone behind their back is an old complaint: Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (around 1470) has "to say of me wrong or shame behind my back." What is said where a person cannot see or answer is the essence of gossip.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Casser du sucre sur le dos de quelqu'un — literally: To break sugar on someone's back
- French: Habiller quelqu'un pour l'hiver — literally: To dress someone for winter
More idioms — Daily Life
- be on pins and needles — To be very anxious while waiting for something.
- make a killing — To make a lot of money quickly.
- lie low — To stay out of sight and avoid attention.
- get lucky — To succeed in having a sexual encounter.
- shout it from the rooftops — To tell everyone about something, openly and loudly.
- be in the thick of it — To be in the busiest or most intense part of an activity.
More English idioms
- add fuel to the fire — To make a bad situation worse.
- have pins and needles — To feel a prickling, tingling sensation in a limb that has gone numb.
- worm something out of someone — To get information from someone gradually and persistently.
- eat one's words — To admit that something one said was wrong.
- have a big head — To be conceited; to think too highly of oneself.
- have itchy feet — To feel a restless urge to travel or move on.
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