Un remède de bonne femme
Meaning: A folk cure of doubtful value.
Language: French
Literally: A good woman's remedy
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Bonne femme here is probably a worn-down bonne fame, of good repute, from Latin fama — so the original sense was a well-reputed remedy rather than a woman's one. The reanalysis added the condescension.
More idioms — Daily Life
- Tirer sa révérence — To take one's leave, with a show of formality.
- À tour de rôle — Each in turn.
- Un rond-de-cuir — A petty bureaucrat.
- Au bout du rouleau — Completely exhausted; at the end of one's resources.
- Hommes de sac et de corde — Thorough scoundrels.
- L'affaire est dans le sac — It is as good as settled.
More French idioms
- Mettre à sac — To plunder a place completely.
- À bon entendeur, salut — A word to the wise — take the hint.
- Bon sang ! — Good grief — an exclamation of exasperation.
- Bon sang ne saurait mentir — Breeding shows in the end.
- Séance tenante — Then and there, without adjournment.
- Un coup de semonce — A deliberate warning, delivered before real consequences.
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.
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