*Il n’est pire eau que l’eau qui dort = Still waters run deep.

*C’est porter de l’eau À la mer (or, riviÈre) = It is carrying coals to Newcastle.

[The Greek equivalent was G?a??a? e?? ????a? = Owls to Athens; the Hebrew “Enchantments to Egypt,” and the Late Latin “Indulgences to Rome.”]

Cet homme aime À pÊcher en eau trouble = That man likes fishing in troubled waters.

*Ils se ressemblent comme deux gouttes d’eau = They are as like as two peas.

Tout va À vau l’eau = All is going to wreck and ruin.

[A vau l’eau = With the current.]

Pendant l’inondation le toit de cette maison Était À fleur d’eau = During the flood the top of that house was on a level with the water.

C’est un donneur d’eau bÉnite de cour = He makes empty promises.

Les eaux sont basses chez lui = He is hard up; He is in low water.

C’est donner un coup d’ÉpÉe dans l’eau = It is useless trouble, an unsuccessful attempt.

[“?? ?dat? ???fe??.”—Plato, Phaedrus, 276 C.]

Faire venir l’eau au moulin = To bring grist to the mill.

Faire venir l’eau À la bouche = To make one’s mouth water.

*L’eau va toujours au moulin = Property always goes to those who have some already; Money makes money; Nothing succeeds like success.

D’ici lÀ il passera bien de l’eau sous le pont = It will be a long time before that happens.

Mettre de l’eau dans son vin = (fig.) To come down a peg.

*L’eau qui tombe goutte À goutte cave la pierre = Dropping water will wear away a stone.

[Ovid begins a line with “Gutta cavat lapidem” an abbreviation of the proverb “Gutta cavat lapidem non vi sed saepe cadendo.”

“Stillicidi casus lapidem cavat.”—Lucretius, i. 313.]

*Une goutte d’eau suffit pour faire dÉborder un vase plein = The last straw breaks the camel’s back.

Nager entre deux eaux = (lit.) To swim under water; (fig.) To run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.

Faire eau (of boats) = To spring a leak.

Faire de l’eau (of boats) = To take in fresh water.

Laissez couler l’eau = Do not be anxious about what cannot be helped; Don’t cry over spilt milk.

Cela s’en est allÉ en eau de boudin = That collapsed utterly, came to nothing.

[The more correct form is s’en aller en aune de boudin, alluding to Perrault’s tale of Les Souhaits Ridicules.]

Ce mot m’est ÉchappÉ = That word escaped me inadvertently (i.e., I did not mean to say it).

Ce mot m’a ÉchappÉ = I have forgotten that word.

Le cas ÉchÉant = Should such a thing happen; If such should be the case.

Faire la courte Échelle À quelqu’un = To allow some one to climb on one’s shoulders to scale a height; To give a lift to some one.

AprÈs lui il faut tirer l’Échelle = One cannot do better than he has (or, does); He beats the record, takes the cake.

Faire l’École buissonniÈre = To play truant.

Faire une École = To make a blunder.

Faire École = To found (or, to be a leader of) a school of art, literature, music, &c.

Faire un tour d’Écolier = To play a schoolboy trick.

Faire une faute d’Écolier = To make a foolish mistake.

*Il n’y a pas de petites Économies = A penny saved is a penny earned; Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves.

[Also: Les petites Économies font les bonnes maisons.]

*Jamais beau parler n’Écorcha la langue = Fair words never did harm; Civility costs nothing.

Il Écorche le franÇais = He murders French.

Il Écorche l’anguille par la queue = He sets (goes) the wrong way to work.

Il fait un vent À Écorner (or, dÉcorner) un boeuf = The wind is enough to blow one’s head off.

Chacun a payÉ son Écot = Each paid for himself.

Comme cet homme s’Écoute! = What care that man takes of himself!

C’est un Écoute s’il pleut = He is a man who cannot be relied upon.

[Mills were so called which depended for their motive-power on rain-water and consequently were continually stopping.]

Il n’Écoute que d’une oreille = He pays very little attention.

Écrire de bonne encre À quelqu’un = To write to some one in strong terms.

Être propre comme une Écuelle de chat = To be very dirty.

*Fermer l’Écurie quand les chevaux sont dehors = To lock the stable door when the steed is stolen.

C’est un cheval À l’Écurie = It is a white elephant.

Cela fait de l’effet = That looks well; That is showy; That makes a fine display.

Cela me fait cet effet = That seems so to me.

Cela m’est Égal = It is all the same to me; I don’t care.

Tout lui est Égal = Everything is the same to him.

D’Égal À Égal = 1. Between equals. 2. On equal terms.

C’est Égal, je me suis joliment amusÉ = Anyhow (All the same), I enjoyed myself very much.

*PrÈs de l’Église, loin de Dieu = The nearer the church, the farther from God.

Gueux comme un rat d’Église = As poor as a church mouse.

Prendre son Élan = To take one’s spring (before a jump).

Ne faites donc pas tant d’embarras = Do not make such a fuss.

Ce n’est pas l’embarras = There is no great difficulty in it; After all; For the matter of that.

Elle n’a que l’embarras du choix = She has only too much to choose from.

La loi passa d’emblÉe = The law passed straight off, by acclamation.

Il a ÉtÉ reÇu d’emblÉe = He passed his examination the first time he went up, without any difficulty.

*Qui trop embrasse mal Étreint = Grasp all, lose all.

[“Qui totum vult totum perdit.”—Publius Syrus.

Qui tout convoite tout perd.
L’avarice rompt le sac.
Too much is stark naught.
“Oh, the little more, and how much it is!
And the little less, and what worlds away!”
Browning, Dramatic Lyrics,‘By the Fireside,’ 39.]

Il a employÉ le vert et le sec pour y parvenir = He left no stone unturned to secure success.

S’emporter comme une soupe au lait = To be very hasty-tempered.

Ne faites pas attention À ses menaces, autant en emporte le vent = Pay no attention to his threats, they are as light as air.

Emporter ses cliques et ses claques = To clear off, bag and baggage.

C’est une rÉponse À l’emporte-piÈce = It is a very cutting answer, and to the point.

[À l’emporte-piÈce = Cut out by a machine-punch.]

Cela m’emporte la bouche = It burns my mouth (i.e. it is too highly spiced).

Il fait l’empressÉ auprÈs de sa vieille tante = He pays marked attention to his old aunt.

Elle a un air empruntÉ = She looks awkward, embarrassed, affected.

Ne choisit pas qui emprunte = Beggars cannot be choosers.

[“Qui empruncte ne choisist mie.”
Maistre Pierre Pathelin, 79.]

Casser le nez À quelqu’un À coups d’encensoir = To flatter some one fulsomely to his face. (See Casser.)

Payer la folle enchÈre = To pay for one’s rashness, for one’s folly.

[When a man bids at an auction and does not pay for what he has bought, the lot is put up again and he has to pay the difference (if any) between the price it is then sold at and the price he bid for it.]

EnchÈre au rabais = A Dutch auction.

Je suis entre l’enclume et le marteau = I am in a dilemma; I am between the devil and the deep sea.

*Il frappe toujours sur la mÊme enclume = He is always harping on the same string.

*A dure enclume marteau de plume = The strokes of adversity find the wise man unmoved.

[“Impavidum ferient ruinae.”
Horace, Odes, iii. 3.]

Frapper au bon endroit = To touch the right spring; To hit the right nail on the head; To hit the mark; To touch the spot.

Des gens endimanchÉs = Folk rigged out in their Sunday best.

Des enfants perdus (military) = A forlorn hope.

Un enfant terrible = A child who tells awkward truths.

[Gavarni, the caricaturist, published a series of sketches in 1865 under the title of “Les Enfants Terribles.”]

Elle a deux enfants du premier lit = She has two children by her first husband.

C’est un enfant de la balle = He is his father’s son; He follows the profession of his father. (See Balle.)

C’est bien l’enfant de sa mÈre = He is the very image of his mother.

Faire l’enfant = To behave childishly (on purpose).

Je ne suis pas ici pour enfiler des perles = I am not here to waste my time.

Cela ne s’enfile pas comme des perles = That is by no means an easy matter.

C’est un enfonceur de portes ouvertes = 1. He is a braggart. 2. He takes a deal of trouble to solve a difficulty which does not exist.

Être pris dans l’engrenage = To be caught in the toils.

On enleva les journaux comme du pain = The papers sold like hot rolls, like wild-fire.

Il n’y a pas de petit ennemi = Every enemy is to be feared.

[“Croire qu’un faible ennemi ne peut pas nuire, c’est croire qu’une Étincelle ne peut pas causer un incendie.” Sa’adi.]

Nous sommes logÉs À la mÊme enseigne = We are both in the same predicament, in the same boat.

[“?? ??? t? a?t? ?se? s??at?.” St. Clement’s Epistle to the Church of Corinth.]

À telles enseignes = In proof whereof; So much so that.

Je ne le croirai qu’À bonnes enseignes = I shall only believe it upon good authority.

Il entend À demi mot = He can take a hint.

*À bon entendeur, salut = A word to the wise is enough; Verbum sap.

[“A bon entendeur ne fault qu’une parole.”—Rabelais, Pantagruel, v. 7.]

Il n’entend pas de cette oreille = (fig.) He will listen to nothing on that subject.

Vous ne vous y entendez pas = You do not know how to set about it, how to manage it.

Il n’entend pas raillerie lÀ-dessus = 1. You must not speak lightly of that before him. 2. He will not be trifled with on that point.

Entendre la raillerie = To know how to be witty; To be a good hand at chaff.

Entendre raillerie = Not to be offended at a joke; To stand chaff well.

Il n’y entend pas malice = 1. He does not mean any harm; He means no more than he says. 2. He takes it innocently.

Faire l’entendu = To put on a knowing look.

*Il n’est pire sourd que celui qui ne veut pas entendre = None so deaf as those who will not hear.

Un mot À double entente = A word (or, remark) with two meanings.

*Mieux vaut goujat debout qu’empereur enterrÉ = A living dog is better than a dead lion.

J’ai bien envie d’aller À Paris avec vous = I have a good mind to go to Paris with you.

Il ne porte envie À personne = He envies no one.

Il ne fait envie À personne = No one envies him.

Si l’envie m’en prend = If I feel inclined to do it.

Je l’ai envoyÉ promener (or, fam., paÎtre) = I sent him about his business.

C’est son ÉpÉe de chevet = 1. That is his trusty counsellor. 2. That is what he is always talking about.

[Literally, a sword that hung at the head of a bed to guard one from nocturnal attacks.

“VoilÀ leur ÉpÉe de chevet, de l’argent.”—MoliÈre, L’Avare, iii. 5.]

Passer au fil de l’ÉpÉe = To put to the sword.

Qui porte ÉpÉe porte paix = One sword keeps another in its scabbard; Si vis pacem, para bellum.

*Mariage d’Épervier, la femelle vaut mieux que le mÂle = The grey mare is the better horse.

Tirer une Épine du pied À quelqu’un = To take a thorn out of some one’s side; To get some one over a difficulty.

Il est toujours tirÉ À quatre Épingles = He always looks as if he came out of a band-box.

J’ai tirÉ mon Épingle du jeu = I have saved my stake; I got well out of a bad job.

[Une locution qui vient d’un jeu de petites filles: elles mettent des Épingles dans un rond, et, avec une balle qui, lancÉe contre le mur, revient vers le rond, elles essayent d’en faire sortir les Épingles: quand on fait sortir sa mise, on dit qu’on retire son Épingle du jeu.]

Une Épingle par jour fait huit sous par an = A pin a day is a groat a year.

Passons l’Éponge lÀ-dessus = Let us say no more about it; Let us forget all about it; Let bygones be bygones.

C’est un ami À toute Épreuve = He is a well-tried, faithful, trusty friend.

L’Édition est ÉpuisÉe = The book is out of print.

Oh! la belle ÉquipÉe! = Here’s a pretty kettle of fish!

Se dresser sur ses ergots = To stand on one’s dignity.

Je suis bien dans son esprit = He has a good opinion of me.

OÙ avez-vous donc l’esprit? = What are you thinking of?

Il a l’esprit aux talons = He shines at the wrong end; He is not witty.

Il a l’esprit de l’escalier = He never thinks of the right answer at the proper moment.

[i.e. He thinks of the right answer going down the staircase, after leaving the room.]

Faire de l’esprit = To try and be witty.

Il a de l’esprit comme quatre = He is very witty.

L’esprit court les rues = Wit is a drug in the market.

Avoir l’esprit bien fait = To be good-tempered.

Les grands esprits se rencontrent = Great wits always jump together; We both said the same thing at the same moment.

Essuyer les plÂtres = To move into a newly-built house before the walls are dry; (fig.) To experience the disadvantages of a beginning.

Avoir l’estomac dans les talons = To be as hungry as a hunter.

Nous faisons peu d’État de cet homme = We consider that man very little; We take little account of that man.

De son État = By profession, by trade.

Je l’ai mis hors d’État de vous nuire = I have put it out of his power to harm you.

Pour un rien il se met dans tous ses États (fam.) = He gets very excited over a mere trifle.

L’État, c’est moi! = The State! I am the State.

[ChÉruel, Histoire de l’Administration monarchique en France, Livre II. p. 32.]

Il y a de l’Étoffe dans cet enfant = There is grit in that boy.

Voir des Étoiles (la lune) en plein midi = To receive a violent blow in the eye, so as to “see stars.”

Étourdir la grosse faim = To take the edge off one’s appetite.

Je n’y suis pour personne = I am not at home to anybody.

Je n’y suis pour rien = I have nothing to do with it; I have no hand in it.

Vous n’y Êtes pas = You do not understand it; “You are out of it.”

J’y suis, j’y reste = Here I am, here I stop.

[Marshal MacMahon in the trenches before the Malakoff, Sept. 9, 1855.]

Cette fois, Ça y est = Now it is done, and no mistake.

Je n’en suis plus = I am no longer one of the party; I no longer belong to it.

Il n’en a rien ÉtÉ = Nothing came of it.

Il en a ÉtÉ pour sa peine = He had his trouble for nothing.

Il en sera ce qu’il vous plaira = It shall be just as you please.

Je ne sais plus oÙ j’en suis = 1. I have lost the place where I left off (in reading, etc.). 2. I do not know what I am about.

Je suis trÈs bien avec lui = I am on very good terms with him.

Êtes-vous de la noce? = Are you one of the wedding party?

Êtes-vous des nÔtres = Are you one of our party? Are you one of us? Do you think as we do?

VoilÀ ce que c’est que de se mettre en colÈre = That is the consequence of losing one’s temper.

Je suis À l’Étroit = I am cramped for room.

*On ne peut pas Être et avoir ÉtÉ = One cannot have one’s cake and eat it. (See Drap.)

Tu n’en auras pas l’Étrenne = You will not be the first to use it.

Il a le pied À l’Étrier = He is ready to start.

Buvez le coup de l’Étrier = Drink the stirrup-cup.

A franc Étrier = At full speed. (See Bride and Train.)

C’est l’Évangile (or, c’est parole d’Évangile) = It is gospel truth.

*Qui s’excuse, s’accuse = If you try to excuse yourself you practically acknowledge that you have done wrong; A guilty conscience needs no accuser.

Excusez du peu (ironic.) = Only that? How modest!

Il prÊcha d’exemple = He practised what he preached; He set the example.

*Peu de leÇons, beaucoup d’exemples = Precepts lead, examples draw; It is easiest learning at another’s cost.

*ExpÉrience passe science = Experience is the best master; Experientia docet.

[“Experience is the best of schoolmasters, only the school fees are heavy.” Carlyle, Misc. Essays, i. 137.]

Les extrÊmes se touchent = Extremes meet; Too far east is west; Too much care may be as bad as downright negligence.