Francophonie· hard· informal
faire les quatre cents coups
“to do the four hundred shots (cannon shots)”
Meaning
To raise hell
Explanation
Used for someone (usually young) who's out there causing chaos, breaking rules, and generally being a handful. Truffaut's famous 1959 film took its title from this expression.
Example
Dans sa jeunesse, il a fait les quatre cents coups avant de se ranger.
In his youth, he raised all kinds of hell before settling down.
Origin
According to a 17th-century account, King Louis XIII besieged the city of Montauban in 1621 and was advised by a Carmelite friar to fire 400 cannon shots to force surrender. He fired them, but the city held. The thunderous futile barrage became a byword for chaotic excess, and anyone causing wild disorder was said to be making "the four hundred shots".
Source
More like this
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- ne pas y aller de main morteTo act very forcefully, without holding back
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- avoir maille à partirto be in an ongoing dispute with someone
- chercher midi à quatorze heuresto make a simple thing unnecessarily complicated
- chercher noiseto go out of one's way to start an argument with someone