cousu de fil blanc

French

Etymology

Literally, “sewn with white thread”. From the use of white thread to sew pieces of cloth together before the final sewing.[1]

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ku.zy d(ə) fil blɑ̃/
  • Audio(file)

Phrase

cousu de fil blanc

  1. (figurative) blatantly obvious, poorly concealed (such as of the plot of a story)
    L’intrigue de ce film était vraiment cousue de fil blanc.
    The plot of that movie was as predictable as ever.
    • 2002, Pierre Laforgue, L'Œdipe romantique: le jeune homme, le désir et l'histoire en 1830, ELLUG, →ISBN, page 75:
      En un mot, tout est cousu de fil blanc et il faut être aveugle pour, dès le début, ne pas comprendre ce qui est parfaitement évident.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Descendants
  • → Russian: шито белыми нитками (šito belymi nitkami) (calque)

References
  1. Michael Mould (2011) The Routledge Dictionary of Cultural References in Modern French, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 73
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