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French Expression
| Meaning | against the nap, wrong way, backwards | |
| Literally | in opposite direction | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[ah r(eu) boor] |
| IPA | [a ʁə buʁ] | |
Usage notes: The Old French word le rebours has no equivalent noun in English; it refers to the opposite direction of a fabric’s nap. Today rebours survives only in the prepositional phrase à rebours, which literally means “against the nap" or "against the way the fur grows":
Par exemple…
| Quelqu’un a dû lisser le tissu à rebours. | Someone must have rubbed the fabric against the nap. | |
| Il ne faut pas caresser le chat à rebours. | You shouldn’t pet the cat the wrong way (against the way the fur grows). |
À rebours is also used figuratively to mean “backwards, wrong way":
Par exemple…
| Peux-tu compter à rebours ? | Can you count backwards? | |
| Il feuillette le livre à rebours. | He’s flipping through the book backwards. | |
| prendre une rue en sens unique à rebours | to go the wrong way up a one-way street |
À rebours de figuratively means “against”:
Par exemple…
| aller à rebours de la nature | to go against nature | |
| être à rebours du bon sens | to go against common sense |
Expressions with à rebours
| à rebours du bon sens | illogical, against common sense | |
| comprendre à rebours | to misunderstand, get the wrong idea | |
| un compte à rebours | countdown | |
| faire tout à rebours | to do everything the wrong way around | |
| prendre l’ennemi à rebours | to sneak up behind the enemy | |
| prendre quelqu’un à rebours | to rub someone the wrong way |
Synonymous expressions
- à contre-courant
- à contrefil
- à contre-poil
- à contresens
- à l’envers
- à rebrousse-poil
- de travers
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