Literal translation
To raise, or whip up, the aioli
Meaning
to make an aïoli
Explanation
Three senses overlap here : making an aïoli, heating up the mood, making love. The first comes from the very gesture of the sauce, which rises as oil is added drop by drop until it takes on a firm texture. The other two rest on the symbolism of aïoli, an emblematic dish of conviviality, unity and vitality, and on the concrete gesture of the pestle working in the mortar. The sense of « heating up the mood » spread into regional French fairly recently, carried by the renewed assertion of Marseille and Provençal identity, while the sexual sense stays mostly alive in Provençal, fed by bawdy songs and jokes. A failed aïoli, one that does not set, is said to be foundu, which gave the expression for someone who has gone mad.