Jouer devant les banquettes = (of actors) To play to empty benches.

Se faire la barbe = To shave.

Rire dans sa barbe = To laugh in one’s sleeve.

[See Cape. This is used always of men, whereas rire sous cape is used chiefly of women.]

Je le lui dirai À sa barbe = I will say it to his face.

Je lui ferai la barbe quand il voudra = I will show him who is master whenever he likes.

Vous arrivez trop tard, la barre est tirÉe = You are too late, the line is drawn, the list is closed.

Je ne fais que toucher barres = I am off again immediately.

J’ai barres sur lui = I have an advantage over him; I have the whip-hand (the pull) over him.

[Expressions taken from the game of barres, or prisoner’s base.]

*A porte basse, passant courbÉ = One must bow to circumstances.

Il se retira l’oreille basse = He went away with his tail between his legs.

Les vainqueurs firent main basse sur les biens des habitants = The victors pillaged the town.

Rester chapeau bas = To stand hat in hand.

Il m’a traitÉ de haut en bas = He treated me contemptuously.

Vous ne savez pas oÙ le bÂt le blesse = You do not know where the shoe pinches him.

[“Je sÇay mieux oÙ le bas me blesse.” Maistre Pierre Pathelin, l. 1357. BÂt = pack-saddle. Compare the German: Jeder weiss am besten wo ihn der Schuh drÜckt.

The phrase first appears in Plutarch’s Life of Æmilius Paullus. A certain Roman having forsaken his wife, her friends fell out with him and asked what fault he found in her; was she not faithful and fair, and had she not borne him many beautiful children? He replied by putting forth his foot and saying: “Is not this a goodly shoe? Is it not finely made, and is it not new? And yet I dare say there is not one of you can tell where it pinches me.”]

Inconnu au bataillon (fam.) = I don’t know him; No one knows him.

C’Était une bataille rangÉe = It was a pitched battle.

Cet argument est son cheval de bataille = That argument is his stronghold; That is his great argument.

Arriver en trois bateaux = To come with great fuss, in great state, with unnecessary ceremony.

[This expression is usually used sarcastically; it originates from great personages or rich merchant-men being accompanied by ships of war. Compare Rabelais, i. 16, and La Fontaine, Fables, ix. 3. Le lÉopard et le singe qui gagnent de l’argent À la foire.]

Il travaille À bÂtons rompus = He works by fits and starts.

Conversation À bÂtons rompus = Desultory talk.

Il cherchait À nous mettre des bÂtons dans les roues = He tried to put a spoke in our wheel.

Le tour du bÂton = Perquisites, illicit profits.

Ce sera mon bÂton de vieillesse = He will be my support (consolation) in my old age.

Il lui a battu froid = He gave him the cold shoulder.

[Comp. “Majorum ne quis amicus frigore te feriat.”—Horace, Sat., ii. 1.]

Battre la campagne = 1. (lit.) To scour the country. 2. (fig.) To talk nonsense. 3. (of invalids) To wander. 4. To beat about the bush.

Battre la breloque (berloque) = To talk nonsense.

Battre le pavÉ = 1. To loaf about. 2. To wander about in search for work.

Tout battant neuf = All brand new.

Battre le chien devant le loup = To pretend to be angry with one person to deceive another.

Avoir les yeux battus = To look tired about the eyes.

La fÊte battait son plein = The entertainment was at its height.

Battre quelqu’un À plate couture = To beat some one hollow.

[Literally, to beat some one so hard and thoroughly, as to flatten the seams (coutures) of his coat.]

*Les battus payent l’amende = The weakest go to the wall; Those who lose pay.

L’un bat les buissons et l’autre prend les oiseaux = One does the work and the other reaps the advantage; One man starts the game and another kills it.

*Autant vaut bien battu que mal battu = As well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb; In for a penny, in for a pound. (See Chien.)

Je n’ai pas foi dans son baume = I have no faith in his plan.

Quand les femmes sont ensemble, elles taillent des bavettes À n’en plus finir = When women get together they indulge in endless gossip.

Coucher À la belle Étoile = To sleep out of doors.

DÉchirer quelqu’un À belles dents = To criticise some one mercilessly; To tear a person’s reputation to shreds.

Il fera beau quand je retournerai chez lui = It will be a very fine day when I go to his house again (i.e. I shall never go).

Voir tout en beau = To see everything through rose-coloured spectacles. (See Noir.)

Faire le beau = (of dogs) To beg.

Il y a beau temps que je ne vous ai (pas) vu = I have not seen you for many a day.

J’en entends de belles sur votre compte = I hear nice goings-on of you.

Il en a fait de belles = He played nice tricks (ironic).

Il vous en conte de belles = He is telling you fine tales; He is taking you in finely.

Vous me la donnez (or, baillez) belle (ironic.) = A pretty tale you are telling me; Aren’t you stuffing me up nicely?

Ce que vous proposez est bel et bon, mais je n’en ferai rien = What you propose is all very fine, but I shall do no such thing.

Être dans de beaux draps = To be in a pretty pickle (ironic).

Vous l’avez ÉchappÉ belle = You have had a narrow escape (or, shave).

Il a beau parler, il ne me convaincra pas = It is of no use for him to speak, he will not convince me; Let him say what he will, he will not convince me.

[The origin of this use of beau is obscure. Larousse suggests the origin may be in the idea of having a fine field for operations, which will be of no value, as our: “it is all very fine for me to speak.”]

Il recommenÇa de plus belle = He began again worse than ever.

Vous avez beau jeu = 1. (lit.) You have good cards. 2. (fig.) You have the advantage.

*La belle plume fait le bel oiseau = Fine feathers make fine birds.

Se mettre au beau = (of the weather) To clear up.

Jouer la belle = To play the rubber (or third game, to see which of the players is the conqueror).

*Beaucoup de bruit pour rien = Much ado about nothing.

La beautÉ ne se mange pas en salade = Beauty does not fill the larder; Prettiness makes no pottage.

Il m’a tenu le bec dans l’eau = He kept me in suspense.

C’est un homme qui ne se laisse pas passer la plume par le bec = He is a man not easily taken in.

[Clerks bet a newcomer that he cannot write with a pen in his mouth. On his endeavouring to do so, they pull the pen sharply through his lips, thus inking his face. “Qu’on me fasse passer la plume par le bec.” MoliÈre, Les Femmes Savantes, iii. 6.]

C’est un blanc bec = He is a beardless boy, greenhorn.

“Souffrez que je lui montre son bec jaune” = Allow me to show him he is a silly goose.

[MoliÈre, Le Malade Imaginaire, iii. 17. Bec jaune or bÉjaune is an allusion to young birds whose beaks are generally yellow.]

Il a bec et ongles = He knows how to defend himself.

Avoir bon bec (fam.) = To be a chatterbox; To speak well; To be able to answer back.

[“Il n’est bon bec que de Paris” is the refrain of Villon’s “Ballade des Femmes de Paris.”]

C’est une bÉcasse = She is a goose.

BÊcher quelqu’un (fam.) = To pick a person to pieces.

Sous (or, par) bÉnÉfice d’inventaire = 1. (lit. in a legal sense) Without prejudice. 2. (fig.) Only to a certain point, conditionally, for what it is worth, with a pinch of salt.

[e.g. Il faut croire ce conte sous bÉnÉfice d’inventaire. The origin of the legal phrase arose from the fact that an inheritor is liable for the debts of the deceased only in proportion to his inheritance, which is verified by the inventory. Thus, if the debts are more than the inheritance, a sole heir would decline to inherit at all.

Compare: “Un paÏen, qui sentait quelque peu le fagot
Et qui croyait en Dieu, pour user de ce mot,
Par bÉnÉfice d’inventaire.”
La Fontaine, Fables, iv. 19.]

Il faut prendre le bÉnÉfice avec les charges = One must take the rough with the smooth.

J’ai ÉtÉ bercÉ de cela = I have heard that from my cradle.

Bon berger tond mais n’Écorche pas = We may use but not abuse our subordinates.

Avoir la berlue (fam.) = To see things which do not exist; To have a wrong idea of anything.

Aimer la besogne faite = To hate work; To like to get work over.

Abattre de la besogne = To get through a great deal of work.

*On connaÎt les amis au besoin = A friend in need is a friend indeed. (See Ami.)

*On a souvent besoin d’un plus petit que soi = A mouse may be of service to a lion.

[La Fontaine, Fables, ii. 11.]

*Morte la bÊte, mort le venin = Dead dogs cannot bite; Dead men tell no tales.

Cet homme est ma bÊte noire (mon cauchemar) = That man is my pet aversion; I hate the very sight of that man.

Pas si bÊte = Not so green, foolish.

Il est bÊte À manger du foin = He is a perfect idiot.

[Also: bÊte comme (un) chou, une oie, un pot, une cruche.]

*Qui se fait bÊte, le loup le mange = If one is too confiding, one is imposed upon. (See Brebis.)

C’est une bonne bÊte (or, la bÊte du bon Dieu) = He is a good-natured fellow (not over-clever).

Une bÊte À bon Dieu (or, bÊte À Dieu) = A ladybird.

Plus fin que lui n’est pas bÊte = It would take a smart man to deceive him.

On ne peut manier le beurre qu’on ne se graisse les doigts = One cannot touch pitch without soiling one’s fingers; If you have to do with money, some will stick.

[“But I think they that touch pitch will be defiled.” Much Ado about Nothing, iii. 3.]

Il faut faire son beurre = One must make a profit; One must feather one’s nest.

Ça entre comme dans du beurre = (fig.) It is as easy as anything.

*Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien = Leave well alone.

Grand bien vous fasse = Much good may it do you.

Le navire a pÉri corps et biens = The ship went down with all hands on board.

Il a du bien au soleil = He has landed property.

Ils sont sÉparÉs de corps et de biens = They have had a judicial separation (a mensa et thoro).

Tout va bien = It is all right.

C’est bien fait = It serves you (him, her) right.

C’est bien lui = That’s he all over.

On y est trÈs bien = The accommodation there is very good.

Je suis trÈs bien ici = I am quite comfortable here.

*Qui est bien qu’il s’y tienne = Rest content where thou art; Better dry bread at home than roast meat abroad.

Cet homme est trÈs bien = He is a gentleman.

Mener une entreprise À bien = To bring an affair to a successful issue.

Il est sur son bien-dire = He is on his best behaviour; He minds his p’s and q’s.

Nous voilÀ bien (ironic.) = Here is a nice state of things.

Il ne faut attendre son bien que de soi-mÊme = Always rely on yourself.

Le bien lui vient en dormant = He becomes rich without any trouble.

Tant bien que mal = So-so; Neither well nor ill; After a fashion. (See Tant.)

Cela est bientÔt dit = That is easier said than done.

Ne pas se faire de bile (fam.) = To take things easily.

Un billet de faire part = A letter by which a birth, marriage, or death is made known to friends.

[Cards are used in England for marriages and deaths.]

Un billet doux = A love letter.

*Ah! le bon billet qu’a La ChÂtre = Promises are like pie-crust, made to be broken.

[The Marquis de la ChÂtre was the lover of the celebrated Ninon de l’Enclos (1616-1706). When he was obliged to go off to the wars, he made her write him a letter promising to remain faithful to him. On taking another lover, she remembered the letter she had written, and uttered these words, which have become proverbial for any worthless promise.]

J’ai passÉ une nuit blanche = I have not slept a wink all night.

Dire tantÔt blanc, tantÔt noir = To say first one thing and then another.

Se manger le blanc des yeux = To have a furious quarrel.

*Rouge le soir et blanc le matin,
C’est la journÉe du pÈlerin =
Red at night is the shepherd’s delight,
Red in the morning, the shepherd’s warning.
Evening red and morning gray
Are two sure signs of a fine day.

Manger son blÉ en herbe = To anticipate one’s revenue.

J’en suis tout bleu (fam.) = Well! I am surprised.

En bloc = In the mass, in the lump.

Plus il boit, plus il a soif = Ever drunk, ever dry.

*Qui a bu n’a point de secrets = When wine sinks, words swim; In vino veritas; Drink washes off the daub, and discovers the man; What the sober man has in his heart, the drunkard has on his lips.

[“La vÉritÉ sort mieux d’un tonneau que d’un puits.” Augier, L’AventuriÈre, ii. 4.]

*Le vin est tirÉ, il faut le boire = You have gone too far now to draw back; In for a penny, in for a pound.

[At the siege of Douai in 1667, Louis XIV. found himself unexpectedly under a heavy cannonade from the besieged city. In compliance with the entreaties of those around him, who urged him not to risk so important a life, he was about to retire in a somewhat unsoldierly and unkingly fashion, when M. de Charost rode up and whispered this proverb in his ear. The king remained exposed to the fire of the enemy for a suitable time, and held in higher honour the counsellor who had saved him from an unseemly retreat.—Trench. “Le vin est tirÉ, Monsieur, il faut le boire” is a line in Regnard’s Joueur, iii. 2.]

Ce n’est pas la mer À boire = That is no very difficult matter.

Il boit du lait (fam.) = He is satisfied, happy.

*Qui a bu boira = Habit is second nature; If you take to the habit of drinking you cannot get rid of it.

[“Et quiconque a jouÉ, toujours joue et jouera.” Regnard, Le Joueur, iv. 1.]

Boire comme un trou (une Éponge) = To drink like a fish.

Boire un bouillon (lit.) = To swallow water (when swimming); To swallow a bitter pill; To lose a lot of money.

Boire sec = To drink hard; To drink wine neat (without adding water).

Boire le calice jusqu’À la lie = To drink the cup to the dregs.

Il boirait la mer et ses poissons = Nothing can assuage his thirst.

Croyez cela et buvez de l’eau (fam.) = Do not believe that, I know it is not true; Surely you are not simple enough to believe that!

*Qui fait la faute la boit = As you have brewed, so you must drink; As you have sown, so you must reap; As you make your bed, so you must lie on it.

Boire À tire-larigot = To drink excessively.

[The origin of this expression is obscure. Larousse gives the following explanation, adding that it was probably invented to explain the saying, as it can be found in no ancient author. “Odo Rigaud was formerly Archbishop of Rouen, and in celebration of his appointment he had a huge bell cast for his cathedral in 1282. This bell was called after him la Rigaud. After ringing this bell, the bellringers required much wine to refresh them; hence boire À tire larigot, or la Rigaud, meant to drink like one who has been ringing a heavy bell.” LittrÉ favours the derivation from larigot, or arigot, a little flute, and then the expression would be analogous to flÛter, a popular word for boire. But probably the correct explanation is that of Sainte-Palaye, who says that a later meaning of arigot was the tap of a cask, so that this being pulled out, one could drink more without any delay.]

On verra de quel bois je me chauffe = They will see what stuff I am made of.

Faire flÈche de tout bois = To use every means to accomplish an end; To leave no stone unturned.

Il ne savait plus de quel bois faire flÈche = He did not know which way to turn. (See Saint and Pied.)

Il est du bois dont on fait les flÛtes = He is of an easy, pliable disposition (i.e. like the flexible reeds of which flutes were originally made).

Nous avons trouvÉ visage de bois = We found nobody at home; “We found the oak sported.”

Le bois tortu fait le feu droit = The end justifies the means.

Il ne faut pas clocher devant les boiteux = One must not remind people of their infirmities. (See Corde.)

Il vient d’Être bombardÉ membre de ce club = He has just been pitchforked into that club (over the heads of more deserving people).

Il la fait courte et bonne = He is having a short life and a merry one.

*A quelque chose malheur est bon = It is an ill wind that blows nobody any good.

Dites-moi une bonne fois pourquoi vous Êtes mÉcontent = Tell me once and for all why you are dissatisfied.

A quoi bon lui dire cela? = What is the good of telling him that?

A la bonne heure! = 1. Well done! 2. That is something like! 3. At last! 4. Capital!

Il n’est pas bon À jeter aux chiens = He is good for nothing.

Il a bon pied, bon oeil = He is sound, wind and limb; He is hale and hearty.

Faire bonne mine À mauvais jeu = To put a good face on misfortune; To make the best of a bad job.

[Also: Faire contre fortune bon coeur.]

*A bon jour, bonne oeuvre = The better the day, the better the deed.

Tout lui est bon = All is fish that comes to his net.

Si bon vous semble = If you think fit.

*Les bons comptes font les bons amis = Short reckonings make long friends.

*A bon vin point d’enseigne = Good wine needs no bush. (See Vin.)

Une bonne fuite vaut mieux qu’une mauvaise attente = Discretion is the better part of valour.

En voilÀ une bonne! (i.e. plaisanterie); Elle est bonne, celle-lÀ! = Oh! what a good joke! “What a cram!” That’s rather a tall story.

Est-ce qu’il est parti pour tout de bon? = Has he gone for good?

Faire faux bond = 1. To deceive. 2. To fail to keep an appointment.

Il ne va que par sauts et par bonds = He only works by fits and starts.

Tant de bond que de volÉe = By hook or by crook.

Au petit bonheur! = I will chance it!

Par bonheur = As luck would have it.

Petit bonhomme vit encore = There’s life in the old dog yet.

[An expression derived from a game which consisted in lighting a large roll of paper and passing it round a circle of people, each one repeating these words. The roll would often appear to be out, when a vigorous swirl would fan it again into a flame.]

Faiseur de boniment (pop.) = A cheap-jack, clap-trap speaker.

[Bonir = to talk like clowns at a fair.]

C’est simple comme bonjour = It is as easy as kiss your hand.

*C’est bonnet blanc et blanc bonnet = It is six of one and half-a-dozen of the other.

C’est un des gros bonnets (or, lÉgumes) de l’endroit = He is one of the bigwigs of the place.

Il a la tÊte prÈs du bonnet = He is quick-tempered, easily ruffled.

Il a mis son bonnet de travers = He is in a bad temper; He got out of bed the wrong side.

[Also: Il s’est levÉ du mauvais cÔtÉ (or, pied).]

Jeter son bonnet par dessus les moulins (of women) = To throw off all restraint; Not to care a straw for what people may think of your bad conduct.

Ce sont deux tÊtes dans un bonnet = They are hand and glove together.

Être triste (gai, ironic.) comme un bonnet de nuit = To be as dull as ditchwater; To be in the dumps.

[Also: Gai comme une porte de prison.]

Il a pris cela sous son bonnet = 1. He invented it. 2. He took it upon himself.

Ses collÈgues opinent du bonnet = His colleagues agree with what he says (without speaking). (See Opiner.)

*“Dans le royaume des aveugles les borgnes sont rois” = Among the blind, the one-eyed is king.

[The quotation comes from J. J. Rousseau’s Confessions, Part i., Bk. v.]

Il est plantÉ lÀ comme une borne = He stands there like a post.

Il faut savoir se borner = One must place limits on one’s desires.

[“Qui ne sait se borner ne sut jamais Écrire.”
Boileau, Art PoÉtique, i.]

Rire comme un bossu = To split one’s sides with laughter.

Il a mis du foin dans ses bottes = He has feathered his nest; He has taken care of number one.

Il est haut comme ma botte = He is a mere sixpennyworth of halfpence; He is very short.

A propos de bottes = With reference to nothing in particular.

C’est le bouc Émissaire = He is the scapegoat.

Faire la bouche en coeur = To try and look amiable; To put on a captivating look; To purse up one’s lips.

Cet argument me ferma la bouche = That argument was a poser for me; I could not reply to that.

Il y en avait À bouche que veux-tu = There was a plentiful supply of it.

Je garde cela pour la bonne bouche = I am keeping that for the last.

[Une bonne bouche = A tit-bit.]

Il prend sur sa bouche pour aider ces gens = He stints himself to help those people.

Faire la petite bouche = To be dainty; To have a small appetite; To be hard to please.

Bouche close (cousue)! = Not a word, mind! “Mum’s the word.”

La bouche fendue jusqu’aux oreilles = A mouth stretching from ear to ear.

Être sur sa bouche = To be an epicure.

Mettre les bouchÉes doubles = To eat quickly; To hurry.

Perdre la boule (pop.) = To lose one’s head; Not to know what one is doing. (See Tramontane.)

Les officiers Étaient en bourgeois (or, en civil) = The officers were in plain clothes, in mufti.

Elle fait une bonne cuisine bourgeoise = She is a good plain cook.

Je prends mes repas dans une pension bourgeoise = I board at a private boarding-house.

*Selon ta bourse gouverne ta bouche = Cut your coat according to your cloth.

[“Fond pride of dress is sure a very curse;
Ere fancy you consult, consult your purse.”
Benjamin Franklin.]

Faire bon marchÉ de sa bourse = To say a thing has cost less than it has.

Obtenir une bourse au lycÉe = To gain an exhibition (or, scholarship) at a public school.

Avoir toujours la bourse À la main = To have always one’s hand in one’s pocket.

Loger le diable dans sa bourse = To be penniless.

[Coins generally had a cross on them, which was a protection against the devil. (See Diable.) Compare Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, xxi.—“We have not seen the cross of her money.”]

Ami jusqu’À la bourse = A lukewarm friend.

Sans bourse dÉlier = Without any expense.

Il tira À bout portant = He fired point-blank.

*Au bout de l’aune faut (or, manque) le drap = There is an end to everything; The last straw breaks the camel’s back.

Il est Économe de bouts de chandelle = He is penny wise and pound foolish.

[Or, Il fait des Économies de bouts de chandelle.]

Il a ri du bout des lÈvres = He laughed in a forced manner.

Il est poÈte jusqu’au bout des ongles = He is a poet to his finger-tips.

Je suis À bout de force = I am exhausted, done up.

C’est le bout du monde = That is the utmost.

Être au bout de son rouleau, de son latin, de sa gamme = To be at one’s wits’ end; Not to know what to do.

Il rÉpÈte la mÊme chose À tout bout de champ = He repeats the same thing every instant, every time he has the chance.

Eh bien! au bout du compte vous avez tort = Well! you are wrong, after all.

Ma patience est À bout = My patience is exhausted.

Il m’a poussÉ À bout = He provoked me beyond endurance.

Laisser voir le bout de l’oreille = To show one’s ignorance (or, true character); To show what one is driving at; To show the cloven hoof.

[A reference to the fable of the ass in the lion’s skin.]

Tenir le haut bout = To have the whip hand.

C’est un vrai boute-en-train = He is the very life and soul of the party.

Il n’a rien vu que par le trou d’une bouteille = He has seen nothing of the world.

C’est la bouteille À l’encre que cette affaire = This is a very obscure matter; That affair is as clear as mud.

Toute la boutique (pop.) = The whole show (i.e. a thing and everything connected with it); The whole boiling; The whole bag of tricks.

[Also: tout le tremblement, and, le diable et son train.]

*Tomber de la poÊle dans la braise = To fall out of the frying-pan into the fire.

Passer sur une chose comme un chat sur la braise = To pass lightly over a subject.

Être comme l’oiseau sur la branche = To be very unsettled.

[This generally refers to a man’s position in life, whether he will stay where he is or be made to leave.]

*Tout ce qui branle ne tombe pas = A creaking gate hangs long.

Bras dessus bras dessous = Arm in arm.

J’ai les bras rompus = My arms are tired.

Cette perte nous coupe bras et jambes = This loss cripples us entirely.

Les bras me tombent de surprise (or, m’en tombent) = I am struck dumb with surprise.

Il a le bras long = He has great influence.

Si vous lui en donnez long comme le doigt, il en prendra long comme le bras = Give him an inch, he will take an ell.

[“Laissez leur prendre un pied chez vous
Ils en auront bientÔt pris quatre.”
La Fontaine, Fables, ii. 7.

German: Wer sich auf den Achseln sitzen lÄsst, dem sitzt man nachher auf dem Kopfe = Who lets one sit on his shoulders shall have him presently sit on his head.

Italian: Si ti lasci metter in spalla il vitello, quindi a poco ti metter an la vacca = If thou suffer a calf to be laid on thee, within a little they’ll clap on the cow.]

Je l’ai saisi À bras le corps = I seized him round the waist (in a struggle).

Je l’ai battu À tour de bras (or, À bras raccourci) = I beat him with all my might.

Pourquoi restez-vous lÀ les bras croisÉs? = Why are you waiting there doing nothing?

J’ai ses enfants sur les bras = I have his children on my hands.

*A brebis tondue Dieu mesure le vent = God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.

[Also: Dieu donne le froid selon le drap. This is said to occur first in a collection of proverbs made by Henri Estienne (Stephanus), 1594. The earliest mention in English is, I believe, in Sterne’s Sentimental Journey.]

*Qui se fait brebis, le loup le mange = He who is too confiding is imposed upon; Daub yourself with honey and you’ll be covered with flies.

*Brebis comptÉes le loup les mange = Counting one’s chickens will not keep the fox off; If you count your chickens, harm will happen to them.

[Compare Vergil, Ecl., vii. 52. This somewhat difficult expression can also be translated: “A bold thief is not frightened at things being counted.” It no doubt refers to the old superstition that counting one’s possessions was followed by misfortune, as in 2 Samuel xxiv.]

*Brebis qui bÊle perd sa goulÉe = It is the silent sow that sucks the wash.

La brebis galeuse = The black sheep.

Il ne faut qu’une brebis galeuse pour infecter tout le troupeau = One scabby sheep will taint the whole flock; One ill weed mars a whole pot of pottage.

[Also: Pomme pourrie gÂte sa compagnie = One rotten apple spoils the whole basket.]

Revenir bredouille = (of sportsmen) To return with an empty bag; To have made an unsuccessful attempt; To return disappointed.

Se coucher bredouille = To go to bed supperless.

*À cheval donnÉ on ne regarde pas À la bride = One does not look a gift-horse in the mouth.

Il courait À toute bride (or, À bride abattue) = He was running at full speed.

Je lui ai mis la bride sur le cou = I gave him full liberty.

Vous lui tenez la bride trop haute = You keep him too much under restraint.

*Tout ce qui brille (or, reluit) n’est pas or = All is not gold that glitters.

Nous n’avons pas un brin de feu = We have not got a bit of fire.

C’est un beau brin de fille = She is a fine slip of a girl.