Informal French Expression
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| Meaning | to kiss good-bye, write off; to accept never seeing something again | |
| Literally | to make a cross on | |
| Register | informal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[feh roon crwa deuh soo] |
| IPA | [fɛ ʁyn kʁa də su] | |
Usage notes: The French expression faire une croix dessus indicates that you’re "crossing out" something that will be gone forever. For example, you’re missing out on a great opportunity or are bound to lose something.
Par exemple…
| C’est une belle occasion, mais tu peux faire une croix dessus si tu n’agis pas immédiatement. | It’s a great opportunity, but you can kiss it good-bye if you don’t act immediately. | |
| Si tu prêtes de l’argent à Hélène, tu peux faire une croix dessus ! | If you loan money to Hélène, you’ll never see it again. |
If whatever will be lost hasn’t already been mentioned, use faire une croix sur + noun instead.
Par exemple…
| Après cette bagarre, tu peux faire une croix sur la promotion. | After that fight, you can kiss your promotion good-bye. | |
| Tu peux faire une croix sur le jeu si tu le montres à David. | You’ll never see the game again if you show it to David. |
This expression has always intrigued me because une croix is also a religious term: faire le signe de la croix means “to make the sign of the cross” or “to cross oneself.” It’s an interesting link between the two expressions – in both languages.
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