Une tour d'ivoire
Meaning: A position of deliberate detachment from ordinary life.
Language: French
Literally: An ivory tower
Category: Daily Life
Origin: The image is from the Song of Songs, but its modern sense comes from Sainte-Beuve, who in 1837 described Vigny as retiring into his ivory tower before noon. The reproach was gentle and has hardened since.
More idioms — Daily Life
- La tournée des grands-ducs — A lavish night out taking in every fashionable establishment.
- Un coup de Trafalgar — A sudden catastrophic reversal, often felt to be underhand.
- Doré sur tranche — Extremely wealthy; luxuriously appointed.
- Le bout du tunnel — The first sign that a long difficulty is ending.
- Brûler ses vaisseaux — To destroy any possibility of retreat.
- Vérité en deçà des Pyrénées, erreur au-delà — What counts as true depends on which side of a border you stand.
More French idioms
- Un vieux de la vieille — A veteran of long standing.
- En quatrième vitesse — At top speed; as fast as possible.
- Au temps pour moi — My mistake.
- Ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard — It's nothing special or impressive.
- C'est comme pisser dans un violon — A completely pointless effort.
- Avoir le cafard — To feel depressed or down.
From our untranslatable words
- Épanouissement — The full flourishing of a person — blooming into your most complete, radiant self. More t…
- Ressourcement — The act of returning to one's roots or origins to find renewal — going back to a place, t…
- Dépaysement — The disorienting yet often pleasant feeling of being far from home, immersed in the unfam…
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