“Remonter les bretelles à quelqu’un” is a French expression that translates literally to “to pull up somebody’s suspenders”. English meanings include:
- to give somebody a dressing-down
- to reprimand harshly
- to tear (somebody) off a strip (UK)
The idiom offers an image of one person yanking up another’s suspenders harshly. Expressio.fr offers an interesting meaning in French: To remind somebody else of order in a lively manner.
Here’s an example sentence:
Papa remonte les bretelles à son fils quand il est désobéissant. Dad gives his son a dressing down when he is disobedient.
A French synonym for this expression is simply “reprocher qqn pour qqch”, to reproach somebody for something.
