Être à deux doigts de
Example: Il était à deux doigts de réussir son examen final avec brio.
Definition
"Être à deux doigts de" is a French expression meaning to be very close to achieving or experiencing something, almost on the verge of success or failure. For example, it describes a situation where someone is nearly successful, like almost passing a final exam with excellence.
Etymology
The phrase "Être à deux doigts de" literally translates to 'to be two fingers away from,' implying something is within a very short physical distance. It originates from a metaphorical use of fingers as a measure of closeness, highlighting how close one is to an outcome. Did you know that fingers have often been used in idiomatic expressions to indicate proximity or likelihood?
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"Être à deux doigts de" appears in the Vocaplus list "", containing 105 commonly used expressions.
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To be on the verge of