one's eyes are bigger than one's stomach
Meaning: To take more food than one can eat; more broadly, to want more than one can handle.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “He piled three desserts on his plate, but his eyes were bigger than his stomach.”
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: Michel de Montaigne wrote in 1580 that "our eyes are bigger than our stomachs," meaning that our curiosity outruns our understanding. In English, George Herbert's collection (1651) has "the eye is bigger than the belly," already of greed at the table.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre — literally: to have eyes bigger than the belly
More idioms — Food & Drink
- have a lot on one's plate — To have many tasks or problems to deal with.
- eat humble pie — To admit one was wrong and apologize humbly.
- a banana republic — A small, politically unstable country dominated by a corrupt elite or foreign business.
- drain the cup to the dregs — To endure a hardship or humiliation to the very end.
- the icing on the cake — An extra good thing added to something already good.
- take with a grain of salt — To be skeptical about something; not to take it entirely at face value.
More English idioms
- have a memory like an elephant — To remember things, especially slights, for a very long time.
- have a sharp tongue — To speak in a harsh, cutting way.
- be in the thick of it — To be in the busiest or most intense part of an activity.
- cut one's teeth — To gain one's first experience of something.
- be scared stiff — To be so frightened that one cannot move.
- have stars in one's eyes — To be dazzled or dreamily idealistic, especially about love or fame.
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