Francophonie· easy
avoir l'estomac dans les talons
“to have one's stomach in one's heels”
Meaning
to be extremely hungry
Explanation
This expression means to be starving, the idea being that your stomach has dropped so low from hunger it's reached your heels.
Example
On n'a rien mangé depuis ce matin, j'ai l'estomac dans les talons.
We haven't eaten anything since this morning, I'm absolutely starving.
Origin
The comical image of a stomach sinking all the way down to one's heels conveys just how empty and desperate for food someone feels. It appeared in Le Littré in 1864 and was used by Huysmans in 'À rebours' (1884). An older variant was 'avoir l'estomac aux talons.'
Source
More like this
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- mettre la main à la pâteto do a share of the actual work yourself
- mettre les pieds dans le platTo blurt out something tactless without meaning to
- avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventreTo take on more than one can handle
- des yeux de merlan fritTo look lovesick
- la moutarde me monte au nezI'm getting angry