Côte d’Ivoire· medium
avoir la bouche sucrée
“to have a sweet mouth”
Meaning
To be persuasive
Explanation
Describes someone who is skilled at convincing others through smooth, persuasive speech, often to get what they want.
Example
C'est avec sa bouche sucrée qu'il a réussi à convaincre cette fille de l'épouser.
It's with his sweet talk that he managed to convince that girl to marry him.
Origin
Borrowed from local African languages into French. Part of a pattern of body-based expressions common across sub-Saharan francophone Africa.
Where
Côte d’Ivoire
Benin
Senegal
Source
More like this
- accouche, qu’on baptiseHurry up and get to the point
- avoir bon dosTo serve as a convenient excuse for someone else's failings
- avoir du front tout le tour de la têteTo have outrageous nerve
- avoir le bras longTo have influence
- avoir le cœur sur la mainto be very generous
- avoir le compas dans l’œilTo judge distances and proportions accurately, just by eye