IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchUn chevalier d'industrie
Meaning: A swindler who lives by his wits at others' expense.
Literally: A knight of industry
Example: “Ce prétendu investisseur n'était qu'un chevalier d'industrie qui a disparu avec les fonds.” — That so-called investor was nothing but a con man who vanished with the money.
English equivalent: A snake-oil salesman
Other ways to say this
- French: De la poudre de perlimpinpin Literally: Perlimpinpin powder
English: a snake-oil salesman
Origin: Industrie kept its older sense of ingenuity or resourcefulness, so the title is sarcastic — a man whose only nobility is his cleverness at fraud. It dates from the 17th century and has nothing to do with manufacturing.
More French idioms
- Rater le coche To miss an opportunity through being too slow.
- Être coiffé au poteau To be beaten by a hair right at the finish.
- Donner de la confiture à un cochon To waste something fine on someone incapable of appreciating it.
- Un corbeau The anonymous author of poison-pen letters.
- Bayer aux corneilles To stand around idly, staring into space.
- Un panier de crabes A group whose members constantly undermine one another.
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