Francophonie· medium
ne pas y aller par quatre chemins
“to not go there by four paths”
Meaning
to tackle something directly, with no hesitation
Explanation
Used for someone who deals with things head on, no hedging, no detours, straight to business.
Example
Le patron n'y est pas allé par quatre chemins pour annoncer les licenciements.
The boss got straight to the point when announcing the layoffs.
Origin
Goes back to at least the mid 1600s. The image is simple: there's only one direct way to get from A to B, so trying three detours first would just waste your time.
Source
More like this
- chercher midi à quatorze heuresto make a simple thing unnecessarily complicated
- mouton à cinq pattesSomething almost impossible to find
- ne faire ni une ni deuxTo act right away without any hesitation
- se mettre en quatreto go to great lengths to help
- se mettre sur son trente et unTo dress in one's finest clothes
- faire d’une pierre deux coupsTo achieve two things with a single action