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Informal French Expression
| Meaning | it’s in the bag, a sure thing, as good as done | |
| Literally | it’s in the pocket | |
| Register | informal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[say da(n) lah puhsh] |
| IPA | [se dã la pɔʃ] | |
Usage notes: The English expression "it’s in the bag," meaning that some project or activity is as good as done, comes from shopping: a successful outing ends with a bag of new stuff. While that makes sense, I think the French equivalent, c’est dans la poche, is even better: pockets are part of your clothing, so they are easier to conceal and more difficult to steal from, which makes it less likely that whatever is dans la poche can be undone or taken away.
Par exemple…
| Ne t’inquiète pas, c’est dans la poche ! | Don’t worry, it’s in the bag! | |
| – Comment s’est passé l’entretien ? – C’est dans la poche ! |
– How did the interview go? – It’s in the bag! (It went well and I’m sure I got the job) |
Related expressions
+ avoir quelque chose en poche / dans sa poche
- literally: to have something in one’s pocket; e.g., j’ai 10 euros en poche – I have 10 euros on me
- figuratively: to be assured of success, to have something all sewed up
+ mettre sa langue dans sa poche – to remain silent
+ c’est – it is, this is
Related lessons
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Is your French as rusty as an old can? Did you live in France years ago or study it in high school—and promptly forget everything upon leaving? The fact is that language ability fades with lack of practice. If you used to know French but haven’t spoken it in years or decades, the bad news is that it probably won’t come rushing back all at once. But the good news is that you can relearn it much more quickly than if you were starting out without that previous knowledge.
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