Literal translation
to be as rich as the sea
Meaning
to be immensely rich
Explanation
This phrase means 'to be immensely rich'. The literal image compares a person's fortune to the sea, an element whose extent and depth escape any precise measure for someone looking at it from the shore: one never sees where it ends, and its vastness seems inexhaustible. In Provence, a region turned toward the Mediterranean, the sea offers a natural, everyday point of reference for expressing the idea of limitless abundance, far more immediately graspable for popular imagination than an abstract comparison. The expression is used with a note of admiration or wonder at a fortune deemed considerable, unlike some sayings that link wealth to greed or excess. The register is familiar and vivid, close to the exaggeration typical of oral storytelling, which likes to inflate traits to make a stronger impression. The pronunciation recorded in our sources confirms this comparison is very much alive and commonly heard in Provençal conversation.