Faire les quatre cents coups - French Expression

Expression: Faire les quatre cents coups Pronunciation: [fehr lay kat(reu) sa(n) coo] Meaning: to raise hell, live a wild life, sow ones wild oats Literal translation: to do the four hundred tricks Register: normal Notes Many expressions cant be translated literally between French and English, but the French expression faire les quatre cents coups is one that makes virtually no sense at all—you cant even guess as to what it means figuratively. It may be partly the definite article les (the) that makes it so difficult, as if there are 400 specific tricks that one must do in order to claim that youve lived a truly wild life. Also, the word coup has numerous meanings—in faire les quatre cents coups, its in the sense of un mauvais coup i.e. a dirty or mean trick. Unfortunately, the title of the Franà §ois Truffauts film Les Quatre Cents Coups was poorly translated as The 400 Blows in English. 400 Tricks would have been a little better, but the best translation would have probably been something more figuratively comparable like Raising Hell or The Wild One. Example   Ã‚  Ã‚  Paul ne va pas à   luniversità ©; il fait toujours les quatre cents coups.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Paul isnt going to college; hes still sowing his wild oats.