Cet homme file sa corde = That man will bring himself to the gallows.
Il ne faut pas parler de corde dans la maison d’un pendu = We must not make personal remarks; We must not allude to the skeleton in the cupboard. (See [Boiteux].)
Il a de la corde de pendu dans sa poche = He has the devil’s own luck.
[A piece of the rope with which a man had been hanged was, and is even now, considered as a charm against ill-luck. Archbishop Trench adduces other proverbs in reference to the man whose luck never forsakes him, so that from the very things which would be another man’s ruin, he extricates himself not only without harm but with credit: e.g. the Arabic: “Cast him into the Nile, and he will come up with a fish in his mouth”; the German: “Würf er einen Groschen aufs Dach, fiel ihm ein Taler herunter” = If he threw a penny on to the roof, a dollar would come back to him.]
Il tient la corde = He is leading; He is first favourite.
Vous touchez la corde sensible = You are touching the sore point.
Ne touchez pas cette corde = (fig.) Do not speak of that.
Cela est usé jusqu’à la corde = (lit.) That is worn threadbare; (fig.) That is thoroughly hackneyed.
Cordeau
Aux États-Unis les rues sont tirées au cordeau = In the United States the streets are perfectly straight.