Une fine lame
Meaning: A highly skilled practitioner.
Language: French
Literally: A fine blade
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Originally an expert swordsman, the blade standing for the man. It transferred to debaters and negotiators without needing any explanation.
More idioms — Daily Life
- Sur l'air des lampions — Chanted rhythmically on three insistent notes, as a crowd does.
- Perdre son latin — To be completely baffled by something.
- Se reposer sur ses lauriers — To coast on past achievements instead of continuing to work.
- Au pied de la lettre / À la lettre — Literally, in the strictest sense.
- Entrer en lice — To join a contest or dispute.
- Se faire limoger — To be relieved of a post; to be sacked.
More French idioms
- Laver son linge sale en famille — Keep internal disputes private.
- Par le petit bout de la lorgnette — From a needlessly narrow point of view.
- Être une lumière — To be highly intelligent — used almost exclusively in the negative.
- Une lune de miel — The first happy period of a marriage, or of any new arrangement.
- Bien luné — In a good mood — and mal luné, in a bad one.
- Depuis belle lurette — For ages; for a very long time.
From our false friends
- Attendre — Actually means 'to wait for'. J'attends le bus = I'm waiting for the bus. For attend an e…
- Actuel — Actually means 'current' or 'present-day'. Actuellement = currently — not 'actually'.
- Blesser — Actually means 'to wound' or 'to injure'. Je suis blessé = I am injured — not blessed.
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