Welcome to Expressions bien de chez nous! Do you like riddles? Are you good at deciphering hidden meanings? Then this week's expression is a challenge for you. Read carefully, look for clues, and see if you can work out what tirer son épingle du jeu means before we reveal it.

Where does it come from?

The expression is believed to have originated in the 15th century, from a children's game. Young girls would draw a circle on the floor close to a wall and place pins (épingles) inside it. The goal was to make the pins come out (tirer) of the circle. To do this, a player would throw a ball against the wall so that it rebounded into the circle and knocked the pins out. The player who successfully retrieved her pins had tiré son épingle du jeu.

Are you getting closer to the meaning? Tu as pu tirer ton épingle du jeu? Keep reading to find out.

What does it mean?

The expression refers to the ability to pull yourself out of a difficult situation gracefully and cleverly: to free yourself in time from a business that is going badly, to manage to benefit from an unfavourable situation, or to come out of a tricky moment with your interests intact.

Think back to the game: the minimum goal was not just to win, but to get back what you had invested. If you managed to retrieve your pins from the circle, you had at least broken even. By extension, tirer son épingle du jeu means to succeed in saving your own cause, to emerge from a difficult situation without too much damage, and ideally with something to show for it.

Some examples

The expression appears frequently in business and political contexts:

"Mercedes-Benz a toutefois réussi à tirer son épingle du jeu avec la Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 Cabriolet."
Mercedes-Benz nonetheless managed to come out on top thanks to the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 Cabriolet.

"Toutes les grandes localités canadiennes appuient les études de ce genre, car elles montrent à quel point le Canada parvient à tirer son épingle du jeu."
All major Canadian cities support this kind of study, as it shows how well Canada manages to hold its own against the competition.

You can also use it in everyday situations. A student who passes an exam despite having studied very little, a small business that survives a market crisis while larger competitors fail, or a person who navigates a complicated family situation without upsetting anyone: all of them have tiré leur épingle du jeu.

"Dans un marché très concurrentiel, cette petite entreprise a réussi à tirer son épingle du jeu."
In a very competitive market, this small company managed to come out ahead.

Keep exploring French expressions

Tirer son épingle du jeu is a wonderful expression: born from a 15th century children's game, still very much alive in modern French business and everyday conversation. Once you know it, you will spot it everywhere.

Can you think of a situation where you have tiré votre épingle du jeu? Do you have a similar expression in your own language? Discover more in our French expressions from Bordeaux series. And if you want to use them confidently in real conversations, our French language courses in Bordeaux are the ideal setting. You can also test yourself with our online quizzes on French expressions.

In a world full of competition and challenges, coming to learn French in Bordeaux is one way to tirer votre épingle du jeu. Discover what the city has to offer through our cultural activities in Bordeaux.

Channel Trotters: French in Bordeaux