Une république bananière
Meaning: A corrupt, unstable state run for the benefit of a few private interests.
Language: French
Literally: A banana republic
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Coined by the American writer O. Henry in 1904 for a fictional Honduras, describing countries whose politics were effectively directed by foreign fruit companies. French borrowed the term intact.
More idioms — Daily Life
- Un travail de bénédictin — Painstaking, patient scholarly labor demanding enormous persistence.
- Le benjamin — The youngest member of a family, team or group.
- C'est la Bérézina — A total, chaotic disaster.
- Chercher la petite bête — To nitpick; to hunt for a trivial fault.
- Passer sur le billard — To undergo surgery.
- Se faire blackbouler — To be rejected, voted down or heavily defeated in an election.
More French idioms
- Une arme blanche — A bladed weapon, as opposed to a firearm.
- 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.
From our false friends
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- Assister — Actually means 'to attend' an event. J'assiste à la réunion = I attend the meeting. For a…
- Phrase — Actually means 'sentence'. For a short phrase or expression, say une expression.
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