marraine
/maˈrɛn/Now historical
noun
In France during the First World War (1914–18): a local woman who befriends a soldier at the front, giving him moral and material support, as by letters, food parcels, etc. Now historical.
Origin
Early 20th century; earliest use found in Edward Verrall Lucas (1868–1938), essayist and biographer. From French marraine, lit. ‘godmother’ from post-classical Latin matrina, with substitution of the suffix -ana for -ina.
- not know shit from Shinola
- not know someone from a bar of soap
- not know someone from Adam
- not know that
- not know the first thing about
- not know the meaning of the word
- not know what hit one
- not know what to do with oneself
- not know where (or which way) to look
- not know where to put oneself
- not know which way (or where) to turn
- not least
- not let the grass grow under one's feet
- not-life
- not likely!
- not like the look (or sound) of
- not-living
- not long ago
- not-me
- not mince words (or one's words)
- not miss a trick
- not move a muscle
- not much chop
- not much cop
- not much in it