Habit
*L’habit ne fait pas le moine = The cowl does not make the friar; The coat does not make the gentleman.
Prendre l’habit = To become a monk or a nun (of the latter, To take the veil).
  HabituÉ Ce monsieur est un de nos habituÉs = That gentleman is one of our regular customers. Hache Cela est fait À coups de hache (or, serpe) = That is done clumsily, roughly. Hacher Je les hacherais menu comme chair À pÂtÉ = I would make mincemeat of them. Haleine J’ai couru À perte d’haleine = I ran until I was out of breath. Ce sont des phrases À perte d’haleine = Those are very long-winded sentences. Il faut tenir les gens en haleine = One must keep the ball rolling. C’est un ouvrage de longue haleine = It’s a long job, a heavy piece of work. Halle Le langage des Halles = Billingsgate. [Also: des injures de carrefour.] Hallebarde Cela rime comme hallebarde et misÉricorde = That does not rhyme at all. [The usual explanation of this expression is, that, on the death of the verger of St. Eustache, one of his friends—a small shopkeeper of the neighbourhood—wished to write an epitaph for his tomb. Being entirely ignorant of the rules of verse, he composed the following:— “Ci-gÎt mon ami Mardoche But in reality the proverb is much older. It dates from the time of the old versifiers, one of whose rules was that two consonants followed by an e mute were sufficient to form a feminine rhyme. This led to abuses like the above, and this rule was superseded by another, that the vowel preceding the two consonants must be alike in both cases.] Hanter Dis-moi qui tu hantes, je te dirai qui tu es = A man is known by his company; Birds of a feather flock together. Haro Crier haro sur quelqu’un = To raise an outcry against any one. [“À ces mots on cria haro sur le baudet.” The origin of the word haro is disputed; LittrÉ quotes Diez, who connects it with O.H.G. hera = here. The old opinion was that it was derived from Ha-Raoul, an appeal to Rollo, or Hrolf, first Duke of Normandy, and a mighty lawgiver. However, within living recollection the cry of Ha-Ro! À l’aide, mon Prince! was used in the Channel Islands as a protection against force and fraud, when no other defence was possible. See a curious tale in “The Gossiping Guide to Jersey,” by J. Bertrand Payne, London, 1863, p. 15.] Hasard Il corrige le hasard = He cheats at play. [“La fortune est redevenue mauvaise, il faut la corriger.” *Trop de hÂte gÂte tout = The more haste, the less speed. [Also: Plus on se hÂte, moins on avance; HÂtez-vous lentement (Lat. Festina lente); Assez tÔt si bien; and the English popular proverb, “Do nothing hastily save catching of fleas.”] HÂter *Ouvrage hÂtÉ, ouvrage gÂtÉ = Haste makes waste. Haut Tomber de son haut = (fig.) To be thunder-struck. Regarder de haut en bas = To treat contemptuously; To look down upon with contempt. Il y a du haut et du bas dans la vie = Life has its ups and downs. Haut le pied! = Be off! Herbe *Mauvaise herbe croÎt toujours = Ill weeds grow apace. Votre rival vous coupera l’herbe sous le pied = Your rival will cut you out, will take the wind out of your sails, will cut the ground from under your feet. L’herbe sera bien courte s’il ne trouve À brouter = It will go hard if he does not pick up a living; He would live on nothing. C’est un avocat en herbe = He is studying for the bar; He is a sucking barrister. A l’heure qu’il est on ne le fait plus = Nowadays it is no longer done. A l’heure qu’il est il doit savoir la nouvelle = By this time no doubt he has heard the news. Faites-le sur l’heure = Do it this very minute. Je partirai tout À l’heure = I will start presently. Je l’ai vu tout À l’heure = I saw him just now, not long ago. A la bonne heure! = Well done!; That’s right!; Capital!; That is something like! Le quart d’heure de Rabelais = The moment of payment (or, suspense). [On returning from Italy, Rabelais found himself in the south of France with no more money to continue his journey to Paris. He had dined well at an inn, and while waiting for his reckoning, he packed up some dust in small packets which he labelled, “Poison for the King,” “Poison for the Dauphin,” and so on. The innkeeper noticing these packets and their terrible inscriptions, informed the police, who took Rabelais to Paris free of charge to suffer the penalty of treason. When he was brought before the King, the monarch laughed heartily at the tale and let him go free.] Passer un mauvais quart d’heure = To have a bad time of it. Histoire VoilÀ bien des histoires pour si peu de chose! = What a fuss about nothing. VoilÀ bien une autre histoire! = That is quite another thing. Histoire (or, Chansons) que tout cela! = That is all stuff and nonsense. Le plus beau de l’histoire c’Était qu’il n’en savait rien = The best of the joke was he knew nothing about it. Histoire de rire = 1. For the fun of the thing. 2. It was only a joke. Hommage Hommage de l’auteur = With the author’s compliments. Homme *L’homme propose et Dieu dispose = Man proposes, God disposes. [Also: “L’homme s’agite et Dieu le mÈne.” “A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.”—Proverbs xvi. 9. “There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, German: Der Mensch denkt, Gott lenkt.] *Le style c’est l’homme = Style is the man himself; Like author, like book. [“Ces choses sont hors de l’homme, le style est l’homme mÊme.”—Buffon, Discours de RÉception À l’AcadÉmie, 1753. There has been much discussion as to what Buffon really did write, whether le style est Honneur Nous jouons pour l’honneur = We are playing for love. *Un homme d’honneur n’a que sa parole = An honest man’s word is as good as his bond. Il fait honneur À ses affaires (comm.) = He meets all his engagements. Il ne prÉtend À votre fille qu’en tout bien tout honneur = He has honourable intentions towards your daughter. Honte Nous lui avons fait honte = 1. We caused him to feel ashamed of himself. 2. He was ashamed of us. Honteux *Jamais honteux n’eut belle amie = Faint heart never won fair lady. *Il n’y a que les honteux qui perdent = Nothing ask, nothing have. Hors ligne = Standing out from the rest; Out of the common run; Beyond comparison; Incomparable. Ce peintre est hors concours = That artist is no longer a competitor (having already received the highest award). HÔte *Qui compte sans son hÔte compte deux fois = He who reckons without his host must reckon again. Huis A huis clos = With closed doors; in camera. |
