They pass unnoticed in our language, so accustomed are we to hearing them.
The French language is full of expressions with more or less known origins.
It is easy to guess the meaning of expressions such as "dropping the sneakers", "having a corpse in the closet", or "putting a camel through the eye of a needle".
But some of them have an unsuspected history.
The editorial staff offers you an anthology.
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Five anglicisms abused by the French language
• “Being badly crossed out”
When someone goes straight to failure or to big trouble, we say of him that he is "badly crossed".
But why do we say "badly barred"?
We can imagine that this refers to a dead end that would be blocked, preventing any attempt to pass.
Think again, that's not what it's about.
In
The 1001 favorite expressions of the French
, Georges Planelles sets the context to shed light on the origin of this expression which comes from... the navy.
It comes from the helm of ships, used to steer them.
If we are not able to "steer" the boat correctly, we are "poorly steered" to bring it to a safe harbour!
• “Put the kibosh”
That's enough.
We must put an end to this unpleasant situation: we put the “holà” with the hand forward to signify “stop”.
Point of Spanish origin in this expression, the “holà” here has nothing to do with the Spanish “holà” which means “hello”.
In reality, this expression is made up of the assembly of “Ho!
Who goes there?”, interjection dating from the end of the 14th century.
It was used to call, to interpellate.
A "holà" was enough to stop the horses of a team.
The expression was then born in the middle of the 17th century, preceded by "faire holà" or "say holà" at the end of the previous century, according to Georges Planelles.
• “Having a voice”
This man, once influential, clearly has no voice in the matter.
When someone is consulted from all sides, it is said that he “has a voice in the matter”, that is to say that he has the authority to meddle in a matter.
Contrary to what one might think, this has nothing to do with a chapter in a book.
This chapter goes back to the Middle Ages, where the chapter designated the assembly of monks and canons which deals with the affairs of their community and the place in which this assembly is held.
Thus, the one who had "a voice" was the one who could participate in decision-making for the community.
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Do you know these expressions with the flavor of History?
• “Standing up”
“Hold on to the tile!”.
How many times have we heard our parents give us this order when we were children so as not to cause a stir?
When one is on one's guard or when one tries to pass unnoticed, one says that one is “standing with tile”.
Nothing to do with the frame or the square, this expression finds its origin in... the crossbow.
This ancient weapon had ready-to-shoot arrows called “bolts”.
When someone stood guard with his crossbow, it was said of him that he had to "stand square" to be ready to raise his weapon against the enemy.
Other interpretations exist, however, on the origin of this phrase, which has only existed in its current form since the second half of the 19th century.
Among them,
• "Money has no smell"
Really?
It is enough to feel his coins passed from hand to hand, and covered with copper, nickel and zinc to discuss the veracity of this expression.
But then why do we say that money has no smell?
It is true that whatever the state and origin of the money in our wallet, it retains its value.
In reality, this sentence would find its origin in a historical event dating from Roman times, according to Georges Planelles.
Emperor Vespasian, who reigned from 69 to 79 AD, is trying to bail out the coffers of the empire squandered by his predecessor Nero.
For this, it sets up taxes.
Including one on urine intended to be collected for use by dyers (in order to degrease the skins).
This measure was mocked by the people, as reported by Titus, the emperor's son,
to his father.
In response, the latter puts a coin under his nose and retorts: "It doesn't feel anything".
Indeed, as long as the money fills the coffers, it does not matter where it comes from.
