[This sentence is found in a letter from Bussy Rabutin to Madame de Sévigné, May 23, 1667.
“Quoniam non potest id fieri quod vis, id velis quod possit.”—Terence, Andria, ii. 1, 6. “When things will not suit our will, it is well to suit our will to things.”—Arab proverb. “Let not what I cannot have
My peace of mind destroy.”
Colley Cibber, The Blind Boy.]
*Qui aime Bertrand, aime son chien = Love me, love my dog.
[“Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.”—S. Bernard, In Fest. S. Mich. Serm., i. sec. 3.]
*Qui aime bien, tard oublie = True love dies hard.
Qui m’aime me suive = Peril proves who dearly loves.
[Words attributed to Philippe VI. when at a Council during his war with Flanders, the Connétable de Châtillon alone stood by him, saying all times were suitable to the brave.]
Air
En plein air; Au grand air = In the open air.
| Être entre deux airs Être dans un courant d’air | } | = To be in a draught. |
Avoir toujours le pied en l’air = To be always on the go.
Il parle en l’air = He talks without thinking of what he is saying, at random, not seriously.
Je vais prendre l’air du bureau = I am just going to look in at the office.
Prendre un air de feu = To go near the fire for a few minutes to warm oneself.
A votre air on ne vous donnerait pas vingt-cinq ans = From your looks I should take you for less than five-and-twenty.
Vivre de l’air du temps = To live upon nothing (i.e. to eat very little).
Elle a quelque chose de votre air = She takes after you; She looks somewhat like you.
Il a un faux air d’avocat = He looks something like a barrister.
Cela en a tout l’air = It looks uncommonly like it.
Il a un air (or, l’air) comme il faut = He has a very gentlemanly manner.
Algèbre
C’est de l’algèbre pour lui = It is Greek to him.
[“C’est de l’hébreu pour moi.”—Molière, L’Étourdi, iii. 3.]
Allemand
Chercher une querelle d’Allemand = To pick a quarrel about nothing, without rhyme or reason.
[This saying has been accounted for as follows:—During the thirteenth century there lived in Dauphiné a very powerful family of the name of Alleman. They were bound together by close ties of relationship; and if any one attacked one member of the clan, he had the whole to reckon with. From the vigour with which they resented any wrong, no matter how slight, arose the expression Une querelle d’Alleman. See M. Jules Quicherat’s article on La famille des Alleman in the Revue historique de la noblesse, Part vi.]
Aller
*Tant va la cruche à l’eau qu’à la fin elle se casse = The pitcher that often goes to the well gets broken at last.
[This has been travestied: Tant va la cruche à l’eau qu’à la fin elle s’emplit. The Germans have an equivalent: Der Krug geht so lange zum Brunnen, bis er bricht.]
*Doucement va bien loin = Fair and softly goes far; Slow and sure wins the race.
[The Italian equivalent is: Chi va piano va sano e va lontano. “Qui trop se hâte en cheminant En beau chemin se fourvoye souvent.”
“On en va mieux quand on va doux.”—La Fontaine, Les Cordeliers de Catalogne.]
Il y allait du bonheur de ma famille = The happiness of my family was at stake.
Ce jeune homme ira loin = That young man will make his way in the world, has a future before him.
Au pis aller = Should the worst come to the worst.
Un pis aller = A makeshift.
Aller son petit bonhomme de chemin = To jog along quietly.
Cela va tout seul = There is no difficulty in the way.
Cela va sans dire = That is a matter of course; It stands to reason.
Cela va de soi = That follows naturally.
Il ne reviendra pas, allez! = Depend upon it, he will not return!
Va pour mille francs! = Done! I’ll take £40.
| Aller cahin-caha Aller clopin-clopant | } | (lit.) To limp along. (fig.) To rub along |
| quietly, neither very well nor very ill. | ||
Elle le fait aller = She makes him do what she likes.
Le rouge va bien aux brunes = Red suits dark women well.
Allons! = Come, now!
Allons donc! = You are joking.
Allumer
“Il n’est bois si vert qui ne s’allume” (Clément Marot) = There is nothing so difficult that cannot be done in time.
Alors
Alors comme alors = Wait till that happens, and then we will see what is to be done.
Ambre
Fin comme l’ambre = As sharp as a needle.
[This is said to have originated in the scent of ambergris, which is of a subtle, penetrating nature.]
Amener
Cette preuve est amenée de bien loin = That proof is very far-fetched.
Ami
*Qui prête à l’ami perd au double = “For loan oft loses both itself and friend.”
[Hamlet, i. 3.]
*On connaît les amis au besoin = A friend in need is a friend indeed.
[Also: C’est dans le malheur qu’on connaît ses amis. “Chacun se dit ami, mais fou qui s’y repose Rien n’est plus commun que le nom Rien n’est plus rare que la chose.” La Fontaine, Fables, iv. 17.
“Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur.”—Ennius.
“Nihil homini amico est opportuno amicius.”—Plautus.
“Vulgare amici nomen, sed rara est fides.”—Phaedrus, iii. 9.
“Les amis sont comme les parapluies, on ne les a jamais sous la main quand il pleut.”—Théodore de Banville.
Un véritable ami est un bienfait des dieux. Prosperity gains friends, adversity tries them. Friends and mules fail us at hard passes. In times of prosperity friends will be plenty,
In times of adversity not one in twenty.]