Literal translation
to have one's backside lined with anchovies
Meaning
to be very lucky
Explanation
A picturesque and deliberately comical phrase expressing the idea of having great luck, exactly like its French equivalent, whose construction it mirrors term for term. The image, absurd on purpose, links the backside, named by the familiar word cuou, to a trim of anchovies, as though the lucky person wore, stitched right onto their body, a garnish of prized and costly food. The verb borda here evokes the idea of edging, of trimming with a decorative band, the way a garment or object is bordered with braid, transposed humorously onto a part of the body. The expression's charm lies in the contrast between the coarse, the backside, and the refined, anchovies, once a prized food of the Mediterranean coast. It belongs to a familiar, jesting register, used to comment with a touch of amused envy on someone's unexpected good fortune.