
IdiomDaily Life
French
Un travail de bénédictin
Meaning: Painstaking, patient scholarly labor demanding enormous persistence.
Literally: A Benedictine's work
Example: “Restaurer cette tapisserie médiévale a été un travail de bénédictin.” — Restoring that medieval tapestry took painstaking, patient work.
Origin: From the Benedictine order's reputation for exhaustive erudition — above all the Maurist congregation, whose monks spent generations compiling monumental editions and chronologies. The phrase implies rigor and time rather than brilliance.
More French idioms
- Blanchir de l'argent To launder money.
- Au petit bonheur la chance Haphazardly, leaving the outcome entirely to chance.
- Avoir la bosse de To have a natural gift for something, as in avoir la bosse des maths.
- Rabattre le caquet à quelqu'un To shut someone up; to take an insolent person down a peg.
- Caracoler en tête To lead by a wide margin, especially in a race or in polls.
- Muet comme une carpe Completely silent; saying absolutely nothing.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- 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.
Keep exploring