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 from somebody. A synonymous verb for this expression is “acculer”, which means to corner.
Here’s an example sentence:
Après la déposition des témoins, le criminel présumé a ete mis au pied du mur. After the witness statements the alleged criminal was up against a wall.
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David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.
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Bonjour! My name is David Issokson. I'm based in Victor, Idaho (near Jackson, Wyoming) and have helped hundreds of students to learn French online since 2013.
