Un branle-bas de combat
Meaning: Frantic preparation; a general commotion.
Language: French
Literally: A hammock-down for combat
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Aboard a warship the branles were the sailors' hammocks, slung across the gun deck. Clearing for action meant taking them all down at once so the guns could be worked — a sudden, total upheaval of the ship's ordinary state.
More idioms — Daily Life
- Battre en brèche — To attack a position or argument until it collapses.
- Une brève de comptoir — An overheard bar-room witticism, usually absurd and unintentionally profound.
- Cela va faire du bruit dans Landerneau — That is going to cause a stir.
- Brut de décoffrage — Rough, unpolished, delivered without any finishing.
- De but en blanc — Point-blank; abruptly and without preparation.
- Avoir un cadavre dans le placard — To have a discreditable secret in one's past.
More French idioms
- C'est le cadet de mes soucis — It is the very least of my concerns.
- Fumer le calumet de la paix — To make peace after a quarrel.
- Enterrer la hache de guerre — To end a feud and set hostilities aside.
- Carpe diem — Make the most of the present rather than counting on the future.
- S'aplatir comme une carpette — To grovel; to let oneself be walked over.
- Rester sur le carreau — To be knocked out of the running; to be left for dead.
From our compliments & insults
- 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.
- Tu es un as — You're brilliant at what you do — the very best.
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