Mettre de l'eau dans son vin

Imagine your friend Amélie is planning a wild weekend getaway, hoping to go skydiving, bungee jumping, and hike a mountain - all in one day. When you suggest that might be a lot for one weekend, Amélie, undeterred, insists that life is meant to be lived to the fullest!  At that point, you might tell her to mettre de l'eau dans son vin - to dial it back a little and meet you halfway. You want to enjoy the weekend, but without needing to survive a near-death experience every hour.

The French expression mettre de l'eau dans son vin literally translates to "put water in one's wine," but its figurative meaning is to moderate one's position, demands, or behavior, often by making concessions or compromises. It implies softening one's stance to reach an agreement or avoid conflict.  It refers to the idea of diluting something strong or intense to make it more manageable, just as adding water to wine would soften its taste and reduce its strength.

Now, here is the million-dollar question:   Why would the French ever suggest adding water to their precious wine?  Wouldn’t it sound a bit sacrilegious to any true French connoisseur?

Origin

Today, adding water to wine seems like a serious faux pas. However, the practice wasn’t always about disrespecting the grape!  Back in the ancient Greek and Roman days, wine was much stronger than what we’re accustomed to today. It was so potent that drinking it straight could be, well, a bit dangerous. That’s why people added water to make it more drinkable - and far less likely to lead to a disastrous hangover.

So, while modern French wine lovers would never dream of diluting their Bordeaux, the saying mettre de l'eau dans son vin has evolved into a metaphor for moderation and compromise. It's not about watering down the wine; it’s about balancing enthusiasm, opinions, or, in Amélie’s case, an overly ambitious weekend getaway!

Examples

Julie était convaincue qu'ils devaient acheter une nouvelle voiture immédiatement, mais son mari lui a suggéré de mettre de l'eau dans son vin et de réfléchir quelques jours avant de prendre une décision aussi importante.
Julie was convinced that they should buy a new car right away, but her husband suggested she takes the time to think about it for a few days before making such an important decision.

Le chef de projet a mis de l'eau dans son vin et a accepté de repousser le lancement du produit d'un mois pour que son équipe ait plus de temps.
The product manager compromised and agreed to push the product launch back by a month so that his team would have more time.

Pour former une alliance, ces deux partis politiqes ont dû mettre de l'eau dans leur vin et abandonner certaines de leurs exigences.
To form an alliance, these two political parties had to water down their wine and give up some of their demands.