Mark
California
The Jacques Brel song "Le Prochain Amour" quotes an old French saying: "Un homme averti en vaut deux"--literally, "A man who has been warned is worth two [men]" In other words, "Forewarned is four-armed"!
@Sam Corbin Thanks, Sam. Sorry if I was a little opaque. You asked about examples in English of homophone/synonyms similar to "faux pas/faut pas." In this case, because the alert man is "worth two," the saying "Forewarned is forearmed" becomes "Forewarned is four-armed." (Hey, I was only 19 when I came up with that!)
Much fun! My grandfather, who lived into his 90's, said barbers were always telling him he would go bald early. Then he'd grin and say, "You know what? Those barbers are all gone, and I still have my hair!" And so do I, at 71-- thanks, Grandpop! PS @Sam Corbin, love your comments as always, but one nitpicky correction: WSW is west-southwest, not west BY southwest. There is a southwest by west, but that's a different point. Likewise, there is no north by northwest, Hitchcock notwithstanding :-)
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