entre quatre yeux

== French == === Alternative forms === entre quatre-z-yeux entre quat'z'yeux === Etymology === Compare Italian a quattr'occhi, Danish under fire øjne, Icelandic undir fjögur augu, Dutch onder vier ogen, Indonesian empat mata, German unter vier Augen, Yiddish צווישן פֿיר אויגן (tsvishn fir oygn) and אונטער פֿיר אויגן (unter fir oygn), and Hebrew בארבע עיניים. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɑ̃.tʁə ka.tʁə.z‿jø/, (less formal) /ɑ̃.tʁə kat.z‿jø/, (highly careful) /ɑ̃.tʁə ka.tʁ‿jø/, (highly careful) /ɑ̃.tʁə ka.tʁə jø/ === Adverb === entre quatre yeux (informal) one-to-one, describing a meeting between just two persons ==== Usage notes ==== A /z/ is usually inserted between quatre and yeux for euphony. While the Académie française recommends the spelling entre quatre yeux, it may also be spelled to reflect the additional sound, e.g. entre quatre-z-yeux. === Further reading === “yeux”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012