IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchUn homme de paille
Meaning: A front man acting for someone who stays hidden.
Literally: A man of straw
Example: “La société était officiellement dirigée par un homme de paille.” — The company was officially run by a front man.
Origin: A straw man is stuffed and hollow, holding a shape without substance. The legal and financial sense is the dominant one in French.
More French idioms
- Graisser la patte To bribe someone.
- Le haut du pavé The most privileged position in society.
- Mettre pavillon bas To admit defeat.
- Dire pis que pendre de quelqu'un To speak extremely ill of someone.
- Remettre les pendules à l'heure To set the record straight and restore order.
- Ce n'est pas le Pérou It is not a fortune; it is nothing to get excited about.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Un beau ver vert dans un verre vert verra un ver vert. Ver (worm), vert (green), and verre (glass) are near-homophones — distinguishing them at…
- Didon dîna, dit-on, du dos d'un dodu dindon dont le dodu dos dodine. A 'd' / 'din' / 'dod' avalanche that seems designed to jam the tongue in third gear.
- Un chasseur sachant chasser doit savoir chasser sans son chien. The classic French 'ch' / 's' tangler.
Keep exploring