jemandem Paroli bieten
to stand up to someone; to offer effective resistance
Origin
'Paroli' comes from the card game Pharao: a winner left the stake and winnings in play (doubling), indicated by folding up the card's corner - the 'Paroli'. The word goes back to Italian/Neapolitan 'paro' (equal, even); used idiomatically since the early 19th century.
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- sowie (as well as, and)sowie (Konjunktion)
- Focus particle 'schwerlich' (hardly)Fokuspartikel 'schwerlich'
Examples
Die kleine konnte den großen Konzernen Paroli .
The small company was surprisingly good at standing up to the big corporations.