Guess the French phrase behind this photo clue...

Can you work out which idiomatic expression is depicted below?

A man in a shirt holds the string of a frayed rope between his fingers

Discover this mystery French saying featuring rope

ANDRANIK HAKOBYAN/Shutterstock

Published Tuesday 25 February 2025 - 16:58 Modified Wednesday 26 February 2025 - 09:38

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The French love using idioms in everyday conversations, however these unique sayings can sound completely bizarre when translated literally into English.

It is useful to understand their figurative meaning to avoid confusion when chatting with locals.

This particular example featuring a rope or string, illustrates a popular expression that you might say to describe a fragile situation.

Can you guess the French phrase?

Click to show answer

A) Ne tenir qu'à un fil (literally: to hold on only by a thread)

Take a look at our handy language guide to find out exactly what this idiom means, when to say it, and who to say it to.

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