Provençal expression

Fai-ti gras !

Character

Literal translation

make yourself fat!

Meaning

enjoy yourself, indulge

Explanation

This phrase is used to mean that what one has just been given, or told, is insufficient or useless, in an ironic tone bordering on spite. The literal image invites the listener to 'make themselves fat', that is, to fatten up, to feed abundantly, on something that in fact could never allow it, since the remark comes precisely when what has been given is too meager for that: the command thus becomes a piece of sarcasm, a way of underlining through absurdity how paltry what one has received really is. The adjective for 'fat' also appears in our sources with meanings tied to an estuary or a mudflat, which shows the rich polysemy of the term in Provençal vocabulary beyond its ordinary food-related sense. The imperative form itself, joining the verb 'to make' with a reflexive pronoun, does not appear on its own in our attested dictionaries; its grammatical construction remains transparent to anyone familiar with the verb and the common reflexive usage in Provençal. The register is familiar and mocking, said mostly among close acquaintances, without real malice.

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Other expressions on the same theme

Faire d'ouratòrito stop at every step along the way Faire d'uei de sùpito gaze admiringly, a little foolishly Faire figuroto stand out, clash with the rest Faire gambeto/cambetoto trip someone up Faire la bèboto pout, sulk Faire la damototo put on the airs of a lady