Un coup de tabac
Meaning: A sudden violent squall at sea; by extension, a brutal turn of events.
Language: French
Literally: A blow of tobacco
Category: Nature
Origin: The same root as the other tabac expressions and, once again, not the plant. Southern French had tabassar and tabustar from the 13th century for dealing out a beating or shaking someone about, and by the 17th donner du tabac meant to fight. The word for blows was crossed early with the word for the leaf and stayed stuck to it. Sailors produce this phrase at the start of the 19th century, with coup and tabac piled on top of each other for emphasis — both halves already mean a blow, which tells you how much weather they had in mind. Passer à tabac follows from the same source toward the end of the same century. On dry land a coup de tabac is any sudden event with heavy consequences.
More idioms — Nature
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- 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.
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- être une girouette — Being inconsistent, constantly changing opinions or allegiances.
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More French idioms
- Ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard — It's nothing special or impressive.
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From our untranslatable words
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Browse all untranslatable words →
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