French Idioms and Proverbs / A Companion to Deshumbert's "Dictionary of Difficulties"

by de V. Payen-Payne

Dame

Une grande dame de par le monde = A great lady in the eyes of the world.

[This should be written Une grande dame de la part du monde. Littré points out that the error in spelling par for part is a very old one; it would appear to date from the thirteenth century from the examples he quotes. De par le monde must be derived from de parte mundi, as de per was never used.]

Damer

Damer le pion à quelqu’un = To outwit some one.

[From the game of draughts, dame = a king, pion = a man.]

Damner

Cet homme est son âme damnée = That man does his dirty work for him, is his tool.

[The man who does the dirty work knows he is damning his soul by doing it, but does it all the same for the money or interest it brings him.]