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, ὁ λύκος τὴν τρίχα οὐ τὴν γνώμην ἀλλάττει, 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,” “φθείρουσιν ἤθη χρῆσθ᾽ ὁμιλίαι κακαί.”
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.