avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre
Meaning: Taking more food than one can actually eat; wanting too much.
Language: French
Literally: to have eyes bigger than the belly
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: Montaigne has a version of it in the 16th century, though with panse rather than ventre — avoir plus grands yeux que grande panse, bigger eyes than belly — and some trace the underlying image back to the Middle Ages. The logic treats the eyes as the organ of appetite and desire, capable of taking in far more food at a glance than any stomach can actually hold once it's served; the gap between what looked appealing on the plate and what the body can manage is exactly the overreach the phrase names, whether the subject is dinner or anything else taken on past the point of being able to finish it.
More idioms — Food & Drink
- manger du bout des lèvres — Eating without appetite or showing disinterest in the meal.
- in den sauren Apfel beißen — To accept an unpleasant necessity or disagreeable situation with resignation and stoicism.
- comerse un rosco — To fail completely or strike out; to get nothing at all in a romantic or competitive cont…
- mangiare la foglia — Understand someone's hidden intentions or see through their deception immediately.
- piangere sul latte versato — Waste time regretting something that cannot be changed or undone.
- заморить червячка (zamorit' chervyachka) — To have a light snack or small meal to satisfy hunger temporarily.
More French idioms
- faire un esclandre — Creating a public disturbance or embarrassing scene.
- être un ours — Being unfriendly, grumpy, and difficult to approach socially.
- avoir une mémoire d'éléphant — Having exceptional ability to remember details over time.
- faire la fortune de quelqu'un — Bringing great wealth or success to another person.
- avoir une langue de vipère — Speaking maliciously, spreading rumors, or being verbally cruel.
- être sur la brèche — Being actively engaged in battle or difficult work.
From our untranslatable words
- L'esprit de l'escalier — Thinking of the perfect comeback only after the moment has passed — on your way down the…
- Terroir — The unique character that a place — its soil, climate and tradition — gives to a wine or…
- Râler — To complain and grumble with a certain national flair — a beloved French pastime.