Faire une croix dessus

Informal French Expression

Faire une croix
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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 French sound files [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.

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.

 Related lessons

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Faire une croix dessus

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