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clouer

to nail

verb kloo-EH Rare
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Also means

to pin down

Usage Note

Clouer literally means to fasten with nails, but clouer le bec à quelqu'un ('to nail someone's beak') is the idiomatic way to say 'to shut someone up'. Cloué au lit ('nailed to the bed') is a fixed expression meaning bedridden. The related noun is clou ('nail').

Examples

"Il a cloué une planche au mur."

Natural Translation

He nailed a plank to the wall.

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