How do you say “Give someone a run for their money” in French?
The closest natural French equivalent is donner du fil à retordre à quelqu’un, which literally means “to give someone thread to twist again”. English speakers use give someone a run for their money to mean to compete strongly against someone. Fits an opponent who makes things difficult. The French phrase also covers problems that involve no competition. Register: informal. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural French
donner du fil à retordre à quelqu’un
/dɔne dy fil a ʁətɔʁdʁ a kɛlkœ̃/
- Literal meaning
- “to give someone thread to twist again”
- Register
- informal
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Close equivalent
89 out of 100
What a native French speaker would actually say
“Cette équipe nous a donné du fil à retordre” means the team was difficult to beat. The contest supplies the sense of strong competition.
A broken appliance can also “donner du fil à retordre”. In that situation, “give someone a run for their money” would be a less natural English translation.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning4 out of 5
- Tone5 out of 5
- Context4 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
Our young team gave the champions a run for their money.
French
Notre jeune équipe a donné du fil à retordre aux champions.
English
That small bakery gives the expensive one a run for its money.
French
Cette petite boulangerie donne du fil à retordre à sa concurrente plus chère.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-11-04