Je jette lÀ mon soufflet avec dÉpit = I fling aside my bellows in disgust.

[É. Souvestre, Le Philosophe sous les toits.]

Nous sommes allÉs chercher de la laine et nous sommes revenus tondus = We went out to shear and returned shorn; The biter bit.

Cela laisse À dÉsirer = There is room for improvement; It is not quite the thing.

Je ne laisse pas d’Être inquiet = In spite of all that, I am anxious.

[Here we have the old meaning of laisser (= laxare) to leave off. Hence, I do not leave off being anxious.]

C’est À prendre ou À laisser = You must take it or leave it; It’s a case of Hobson’s choice.

Il se laissa faire = He offered no resistance.

*“Je vis de bonne soupe et non de beau langage” = “Fair words butter no parsnips.”

[The French is found in MoliÈre, Les Femmes Savantes, ii. 7, and the English equivalent in Wycherley, Plain Dealer, v. 3.

Also: C’est un bel instrument que la langue.]

Ils tiraient la langue = (lit.) They put their tongues out; (fig.) They showed signs of distress.

Il a la langue trop longue = He cannot hold his tongue.

Il a la langue bien pendue = He has the gift of the gab.

Jeter sa langue aux chiens = To give up guessing (conundrums, etc.). (See Chat.)

La langue lui a fourchÉ = He made a slip of the tongue.

Il veut nous faire prendre des vessies pour des lanternes = He would have us believe that the moon is made of green cheese.

Prendre le large = To run for the offing (nav.); To run away.

Au large = In the open sea. (See Plein.)

Ils s’entendent comme larrons en foire = They are as thick as thieves.

*L’occasion fait le larron = Opportunity makes the thief; Keep yourself from opportunities and God will keep you from sins.

[“How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds
Makes ill deeds done.”
Shakespeare, King John, iv. 2.]

Latin de cuisine = Dog Latin.

J’y perds mon latin = I cannot make it out; I am nonplussed; I can make neither head nor tail of it.

Être au bout de son latin (or, rouleau) = To be at one’s wits’ end; Not to know what to do, or say, next.

Je lui ai dit la chose en toutes lettres = I told him the matter plainly.

Ne prenez pas ce que je dis au pied de la lettre = Do not take what I say literally.

J’en lÈverais la main = I would swear to it; I would take my oath to it.

[The oath in courts of justice is taken in many countries with the right hand raised, palm outwards. In England we kiss a Bible.]

Le prÉsident leva la sÉance = The chairman dissolved the meeting; The Speaker left the chair.

*À qui se lÈve matin Dieu prÊte la main = It is the early bird that catches the worm.

J’avais le mot sur le bord des lÈvres (or, au bout de la langue) = I had the word at the tip of my tongue.

Il n’a pas un rouge liard = He has not a brass farthing. (See Radis.)

C’est lÀ que gÎt le liÈvre = That is the main point; There’s the rub.

*Il ne faut pas courir deux liÈvres À la fois = You must not have too many irons in the fire.

Il a une mÉmoire de liÈvre = He has a memory like a sieve.

[Also: Il est comme les liÈvres, il perd la mÉmoire en courant.]

Il veut prendre les liÈvres au son du tambour = He makes a great noise about what should be kept secret; He divulged a plan which to succeed had to be kept secret.

C’est un homme hors ligne = He is a first-rate man. (See Hors.)

Il est en premiÈre ligne = He is in the front rank.

Il a une tÊte de linotte = He is a hare-brained fellow.

Traduire À livre ouvert = To translate at sight.

Revenir de loin = 1. To come back from a distant place. 2. To recover from a very severe illness.

De loin en loin = At long intervals.

*Tout s’use À la longue = Everything wears out in time.

[Tout passe, tout casse, tout lasse.]

Il se promenait de long en large = He was walking up and down, to and fro.

Il en sait trop long = He knows too much.

Il m’a racontÉ la chose tout au long = He told me every detail of the affair.

Il Était Étendu tout de son long = He was lying at full length.

Longer la cÔte = To hug the shore.

Ce procÈs traÎne en longueur = That lawsuit is dragging on slowly.

*Qui se loue s’emboue = Self-praise is no recommendation.

Il marche À pas de loup = He walks stealthily.

Il est connu comme le loup blanc = He is known to every one.

*Quand on parle du loup, on en voit la queue (or, il sort du bois) = Speak of angels and you hear their wings; Talk of the devil, he is sure to appear.

*Le loup mourra dans sa peau = A bad thing never dies; A bad man will die a bad man.

[Lupus pilum mutat non mentem. Erasmus (Adagia 989) gives the Greek origin of this saying, ? ????? t?? t???a ?? t?? ????? ????tte?, but he quotes no author.]

Tenir le loup par la queue = To have hold of the sow by the wrong ear.

On fait toujours le loup plus gros qu’il n’est = A tale never loses in the telling.

*Il faut hurler avec les loups = When we are at Rome we must do as Rome does; You must do as others do; He who kennels with wolves must howl.

[“Evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Cor. xv. 33). Paul quoted this iambic line form Menander’s “Thais,” “f?e????s?? ??? ???s?? ????a? ?a?a?.”

The proverb about Rome is said to have originated with St. Ambrose, who, when he was asked by St. Augustine whether he should fast on Saturday or not when he was at Rome, although he was not accustomed to do so when at home, replied: “When I am at home I do not fast on Saturday; but when I am at Rome I do, and I think you should follow the custom of every city you visit, if you would avoid scandal.” From this reply originated the hexameter: Cum RomÆ fueris Romano vive more = When you shall be at Rome, live after the Roman fashion.]

Tenir le loup par les oreilles = To be in a critical situation; To have caught a Tartar.

[“Auribus lupum teneo.”—Terence, Phormio, iii. 2, 21.]

Il fait un froid de loup = It is terribly cold.

*Les loups ne se mangent pas entre eux = Dog does not eat dog; There is honour among thieves. (See Corsaire.)

Renfermer le loup dans la bergerie = To set the fox to keep the geese.

Ils se sont mis dans la gueule du loup = They rushed into the lion’s mouth.

C’est un vieux loup de mer = He is an old sea dog.