David Issokson

Au nez et à la barbe de quelqu’un is a French idiom that translates literally to “at somebody’s nose and beard of somebody” and means “right under your nose”.

The French expression “découvrir le pot aux roses” translates literally to “to discover the pot of roses”. This is a slightly poetic expression with the English meaning: In French “un pot aux roses” (pot of roses) can translate to a secret, mystery or a reality that’s been well hidden. Marie a découvert le pot aux…

The French expression “mettre quelqu’un au pied du mur” translates literally to “to put somebody at the foot of the wall”. This expression is almost the same in English: to have somebody up against a wall A French meaning of this expression is “enlever toute échappatoire à quelqu’un” or to remove all ways-out or loop-holes…

The French expression “vendre la mèche” translates literally to “to sell the fuse”. English meanings include: to let the cat out of the bagto spill the beansto give the game away The idea behind the expression is that the fuse on a bomb isn’t supposed to be discovered. A French definition of the expression is…

The French expression “montrer patte blanch” translates literally to “to show a white paw”. The expression has the following meanings in English: to prove your credentialsto identify yourself Apparently the expression originates from a fable where a goat kid was told to only let in other animals with white paws. When a grey-pawed wolf knocks…