tomber dans l’œil

to strike someone as instantly likeable

The one who falls is the one being admired: you fall into someone's eye when they like what they see. Elsewhere in French, 'taper dans l'œil' does the same job.

Elle lui est tombée dans l’œil dès la première soirée.

She won him over from the very first evening.

This is the Quebec and Belgian counterpart to mainland France's 'taper dans l'œil'. In the 17th century, French said someone who pleased you 'donnait dans la vue' (literally, gave into the sight). France later swapped 'donner' for the punchier 'taper' around the mid 1800s, while Quebec and Belgium went with 'tomber' instead.

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