Un bouc émissaire
Meaning: A scapegoat — someone blamed for the failings of others.
Language: French
Literally: An emissary goat
Category: Animals
Origin: From Leviticus, where on the Day of Atonement one goat was sacrificed and a second had the people's sins confessed over it before being driven into the wilderness. The English scapegoat translates the same passage; French kept the goat as an envoy.
More idioms — Animals
- Un boute-en-train — The life and soul of the party.
- Ruer dans les brancards — To rebel against constraint or authority.
- À bride abattue — At full tilt, at breakneck speed.
- Vouloir faire passer un chameau par le chas d'une aiguille — To attempt something manifestly impossible.
- Acheter chat en poche — To buy something sight unseen, and be cheated.
- Il n'y a pas un chat — There is nobody around at all.
More French idioms
- À cheval donné on ne regarde pas les dents — Do not find fault with a gift.
- Monter sur ses grands chevaux — To take offense and react with indignant superiority.
- Un cheval de Troie — A gift or arrangement that conceals a hostile purpose.
- C'est le chien de Jean de Nivelle — Said of someone who makes himself scarce precisely when he is called.
- Les chiens ne font pas des chats — Children inevitably resemble their parents.
- Les chiens aboient et la caravane passe — Criticism from bystanders does not stop those who are getting on with it.
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 →
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