“Passer comme une lettre à la poste” is a French expression that literally means to pass or go through like a letter at the post office. English meanings include the following:
- to go off without a hitch
- to work perfectly
- smooth sailing
According to expressio.fr, a French-to-French translation is to pass or go through easily, without incident. According to the site, in the 19th century the expression often applied to the idea of digesting food easily.
example sentence:
- Les prétextes que le président a donnés pour ses erreurs étaient des mensonges, mais ils sont passés comme une lettre à la poste. The excuses that the president gave for his mistakes were lies but they worked perfectly.
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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.
