Example: Il a su donner le change malgré ses doutes évidents.
Definition
"Donner le change" means to deliberately mislead or deceive others by pretending to be confident or knowledgeable, even when one has doubts or uncertainties. It involves creating a false impression to hide true feelings or intentions.
Translations
To deceive appearances
Disimular
De schijn ophouden
Fer veure
Etwas vorspielen
Etymology
The phrase "donner le change" originates from old French expressions related to 'change' or 'exchange,' referring metaphorically to 'giving a different impression' or 'trading appearances.' It has evolved to mean misleading or deceiving others by appearances. Did you know it literally translates as 'to give the change,' highlighting the idea of substituting one thing for another?
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"Donner le change" appears in the Vocaplus list "", containing 105 commonly used expressions.
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To deceive appearances