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Un baroud d'honneur

Meaning: A last stand fought for honor when defeat is already certain.

Language: French

Literally: A fight of honor

Category: Nature

Origin: Baroud is Moroccan Arabic for combat, brought into French by colonial troops in North Africa in the early 20th century. The phrase describes a final engagement entered into not to win but to avoid surrendering without a fight.

More idioms — Nature

  • 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.
  • être une girouette — Being inconsistent, constantly changing opinions or allegiances.
  • estar más claro que el agua — Something is obvious, evident, and beyond any doubt or confusion.

More French idioms

  • Un ange passe — Said to acknowledge a sudden awkward silence in a conversation.
  • Être aux anges — To be overjoyed, in raptures.
  • Être aux abonnés absents — To be unreachable, or to fail to show up when needed.
  • Accuser réception — To acknowledge that something has been received.
  • Par acquit de conscience — To do something merely to be sure, so as to leave nothing on your conscience.
  • La perfide Albion — A hostile nickname for England, cast as habitually treacherous in its diplomacy.

From our compliments & insults

  • Tu as du chien — You have a certain irresistible magnetism — a je-ne-sais-quoi that draws people in.
  • Tu as la tête sur les épaules — You're grounded, sensible, and dependable — not easily swept off course.
  • Tu as le vent en poupe — Everything is going your way — you're riding a wave of momentum and success.

Browse all compliments & insults →

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