Literal translation
to change the olives' water
Meaning
to relieve oneself
Explanation
A picturesque euphemism for urinating, built on the verb chanja, to change, and the noun aigo, water, completed by the word for olives. The image refers to the jars and basins in which olives were soaked in water that was regularly renewed during their preparation, a familiar gesture of rural Provençal life, turned here into a discreet joke about the natural need to relieve oneself. This device of euphemism through a twist on an everyday domestic gesture is common in southern languages, which often prefer a concrete, modest image to naming bodily functions directly. The expression belongs to a familiar, humorous register, usually said among relatives, to announce a brief absence, with a lightness that defuses any awkwardness. It shows well how Provençal's agricultural and domestic vocabulary flows even into the most everyday jokes.