Tirer sa révérence
Meaning: To take one's leave, with a show of formality.
Language: French
Literally: To draw one's bow
Category: Daily Life
Origin: The révérence is the bow itself, and tirer sa révérence was to perform it on withdrawing from a room. It is now used almost entirely of resignations and retirements.
More idioms — Daily Life
- À tour de rôle — Each in turn.
- Un rond-de-cuir — A petty bureaucrat.
- Au bout du rouleau — Completely exhausted; at the end of one's resources.
- Hommes de sac et de corde — Thorough scoundrels.
- L'affaire est dans le sac — It is as good as settled.
- Mettre à sac — To plunder a place completely.
More French idioms
- À bon entendeur, salut — A word to the wise — take the hint.
- Bon sang ! — Good grief — an exclamation of exasperation.
- Bon sang ne saurait mentir — Breeding shows in the end.
- Séance tenante — Then and there, without adjournment.
- Un coup de semonce — A deliberate warning, delivered before real consequences.
- Un train de sénateur — A slow, dignified gait.
From our tongue twisters
- Seize chaises sèches sur seize arches sèches. — A relentless collision of 'sei', 'sèch', and 's' — the tongue can't find traction.
- Un beau ver vert dans un verre vert verra un ver vert. — Ver (worm), vert (green), and verre (glass) are near-homophones — distinguishing them at…
- Didon dîna, dit-on, du dos d'un dodu dindon dont le dodu dos dodine. — A 'd' / 'din' / 'dod' avalanche that seems designed to jam the tongue in third gear.
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