Un rond-de-cuir
Meaning: A petty bureaucrat.
Language: French
Literally: A leather ring
Category: Daily Life
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.
More idioms — Daily Life
- 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.
- 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.
More French idioms
- 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.
- Un train de sénateur — A slow, dignified gait.
- Nourri dans le sérail — Brought up inside an institution and knowing all its workings.
- Ce n'est pas une sinécure — It is not an easy job.
From our compliments & insults
- Tu as une cervelle de moineau — You're scatterbrained and forgetful.
- Tu es mon rayon de soleil — A warm way to tell someone they brighten your day.
- Joli comme un cœur — Utterly charming or adorable.
Browse all compliments & insults →
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