faire chou blanc

“Faire chou blanc” is a French expression that translates literally to “to make a white cabbage”. The meaning of this idiom is impossible to guess and has the following translations in English:

  • to come up empty
  • to draw a blank
  • to hit a brick wall.

French-to-French definitions include:

  • ne pas réussir son coup to fail at one’s try
  • ne rien gagner to win nothing

sample sentence:

  • Les policiers ont fait une enquête qui a duré des mois et ils ont fait chou blanc. The police carried out an investigation that lasted for monthes and they came up empty.

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