IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchUn rond-de-cuir
Meaning: A petty bureaucrat.
Literally: A leather ring
Example: “Le dossier dort sur le bureau d'un rond-de-cuir depuis six mois.” — The file has been sitting on some pen-pusher's desk for six months.
English equivalent: A pen-pusher
Equivalents in other languages
English: a pen-pusher
Origin: Clerks sat on a leather-covered ring cushion to make long hours at a desk bearable. Georges Courteline's 1893 Messieurs les ronds-de-cuir made the object the name for the man.
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- Séance tenante Then and there, without adjournment.
- Un coup de semonce A deliberate warning, delivered before real consequences.
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- Nourri dans le sérail Brought up inside an institution and knowing all its workings.
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