# French leave



## Q-cumber

In English, an idiomatic phrase *French leave* describes the act of leaving a party without telling good bye to the host....an informal, hasty, or secret act of leaving.
   Funnily enough, such a behaviour is called *English leave* in Russian: *уйти по-английски *<literally: take English leave> , *"уйти не прощаясь"*

So, the question is: how would you call this in your language? Please attach a verbatim translation, if possible.


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## Joannes

I would say *verdwijnen als een dief in de nacht* 'to disappear as a thief in the night' for Dutch. But there may be a more specific idiom that I don't know.


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## heaa

Hi!

Hungarian: 'angolosan távozik' , which is something like: 
take English leave, leave like an Englishman, leave in an English style, etc.

I have no idea about the origin of the phrase.


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## JamesM

In French, the saying is "filer à l'anglaise", or "depart in the English style".


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## Q-cumber

JamesM said:


> In French, the saying is "filer à l'anglaise", or "depart in the English style".



Probably, the truth is in the middle.


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## DrWatson

Joannes said:


> I would say *verdwijnen als een dief in de nacht* 'to disappear as a thief in the night' for Dutch. But there may be a more specific idiom that I don't know.


The same kind of Finnish idiom was the first one to pop into my mind, too: *lähteä varkain*, which would literally translate to something like "to leave with (the aid of) thieves".


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## Angel.Aura

In Italian:
- andarsene all'inglese (literally lo leave in the English style).


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## kusurija

In Czech: Zmizet po anglicku. 
I'm not sure, if it means *exactly* the same. Word-by-word: To disappear (vamose) in English manner. I thing, it is more often applied if s/o vamose without paying or similar.


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## jazyk

In Portuguese: sair à francesa (to leave the French way).


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## palomnik

I think the terms _French leave _and _filer à l'anglaise_ both originated in the military to describe desertion - hence the stigma that the English and the French attach to it by pointing the fingers at each other.  The fact that most European languages have the term as some variation on "English leave" is due to French influence throughout Europe.


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## Q-cumber

Hi *palomnik*
I've found this explanation in the web:


> *Filer à l’anglaise *
> – перевод : «Уйти по-английски»
> 
> Это выражение имеет одно и то же значение на французском и на русском языке :
> Уйти незаметно, не простившись.
> 
> *Происхождение :*
> Происхождение этого выражения не совсем ясно.
> 
> The rest here.​


​


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## palomnik

Q-cumber said:


> Hi *palomnik*
> I've found this explanation in the web:


 
Q, my original guess was based on the fact that "French leave" was used until at least World War II in the British Army for desertion.


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## Tchesko

Hello,

It took me some time to find this thread so I'll revive it...

Some other translations taken from Wiktionary:

- German: _französischen Abschied nehmen _(take *French* leave)
- Polish: _wyjść po angielsku _(take *English *leave)
- Spanish: _irse a la francesa _(take *French *leave)

Note that:
- Slavic languages (at  least Czech, Polish, Russian) seem to prefer the "English style" way of leaving;
- there seems to be no Europe-wide trend in choosing between "English-style" vs. "French-style" leaving and some languages (Dutch, Finnish...) seem to use neither expression.


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## apmoy70

In Greek:

*1/* *«Φεύγω αλά γαλλικά»* ['fevɣo a'la ɣali'ka]
lit. "to leave alla French"

v. *«φεύγω»* ['fevɣo] --> _to leave, flee, be on the run_ < Classical v. * «φεύγω» pʰeúgō* --> _to leave, flee, escape, be on the run_ (PIE *bʰeūg-, _to flee_; cf Lat. fugere, _to flee_ > It. fuggire, Fr. fuir, Por. fugir, Sp. huir)

*«αλά»* [a'la] --> Italian _alla_

*2/* *«Με ελαφρά πηδηματάκια»* [me ela'fra piðima'taca]
lit. "(to leave is omitted) with gentle hops" (i.e. to leave unnoticed, without anyone knowing)


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## Rallino

*Turkish:

Zengin kalkışı*: Rich leave (The way rich people leave)


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## mataripis

In Tagalog , French leave is "Umalis ng walang pasabi".


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## Q-cumber

> *In other languages*
> 
> 
> 
> Czech: _zmizet po anglicku ("to leave English style")_
> _French: filer à l'anglaise ("to leave English style")_
> _German: französischen Abschied nehmen ("to take a French leave")_
> _Italian: andarsene all'inglese ("to leave English style")_
> _Polish: wyjść po angielsku ("to leave English style")_
> _Portuguese: saída à francesa ("to leave French style")_
> _Russian: уйти по-английски (ujti po-anglijski) ("to leave English style")_
> _Spanish: despedida a la francesa ("goodbye in the French way", "French farewell")_
> _Wallon: spiter a l' inglesse ("to leave English style")_
> _Hungarian: angolosan távozik ("to leave English style")_



_ (c) Wiki_


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## AutumnOwl

I can't think of a similar phrase in Swedish using French or English leave, my guess is _"smita ut köksvägen"_ (slip out (through) the kitchen door) would be the closest when leaving a party without saying goodbye.

As for taking leave from the military without permission, that's _"att ta bondpermis"_ (to take farmer's leave).


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## Encolpius

Too bad, Wiki is becoming better than WR...


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## oksidor

Heard this phrase a lot (the Englishman variety), never wondered about its origins. While there's no common view about it, the most reasonable I've reserached was a reference to the 7 years' war where the British coined the phrase "French leave" about the deserting French, and the French naturally said, au-contraire
It is indeed very common here in Russia, and it is interesting to see how although not widely known in England it seems to be so on point, as many English in forum discussions honestly can't grasp how trying not to make a fuss by leaving can be perceived by anyone as negative behavior
And the phrase has even established itself in the local humor. As the Russian Jewish like to joke about themselves, the true Englishman leaves without saying goodbye, and the true Jew says goodbye but never leaves


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## Penyafort

Apparently it could also come from an 18th-century habit of leaving a party _sans adieu_ among the French upper classes, right before the Revolution took place.

In Catalan: *anar-se'n a la francesa* _or_ *marxar a la francesa*. 
(The DCVB mentions a work of the beginning of the 20th century as a possible first source for it in Catalan, so the expression might have entered the language as a calque from another, possibly Spanish, in which it is already attested in a work of 1850 according to the CORDE)


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## 810senior

In Japanese, there's no specific or matching phrase like the above. We'd just say it, monotonously and tediously, like "無断欠席する(to absent oneself with no notice)" or "途中退席する(to leave midway, it can mean apparently to French leave, depending on situation)", as for vulgarer expressions, we'd also say "途中でばっくれる(to skip or ditch midways)", "ひょろっといなくなる(to disappear like a gust of wind)", "勝手に帰る(to go home of one's accord)" and so on.


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## twinklestar

In Chinese, 不辞而别 bu ci er bie

不＝bu ( No, without)
辞＝ci (say (goodbye)
而＝er (but)
别=bie (leave) 

no say but leave


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## ger4

Joannes said:


> I would say *verdwijnen als een dief in de nacht* 'to disappear as a thief in the night' for Dutch. But there may be a more specific idiom that I don't know.


German has the verb _sich davonstehlen. 
_
In modern German, _stehlen_ means 'to steal' so the expression sounds like 'to steal oneself off'. Apparently _stehlen_ used to have a broader meaning ('to do something secretly', 'to sneak' etc).


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## ThomasK

Dutch: _*de plaat poetsen*_ would be another expression (cleaning the plate or something the like), but that might suggest guilt.


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