Literal translation
to laugh until one's navel bursts
Meaning
to laugh long and loud
Explanation
This expression means to laugh long and loud, to a point the image pushes to the extreme. The navel, emboulìgou, is presented as the body's breaking point under uncontrollable laughter: the laughter, growing more intense, is imagined to burst that part of the belly, as though physical joy literally overflowed the body's casing. The image belongs to a family of Provençal expressions that locate extreme laughter in one specific part of the body, the skin or the belly, to signify that it exceeds all reasonable measure. The register is familiar and readily hyperbolic, used in everyday conversation to describe a memorable, often shared, fit of laughter. The traditional pronunciation of the word emboulìgou, with its marked stress, confirms its lively currency in speech. This phrase sits alongside other Provençal turns built on the same bodily pattern, such as those speaking of tearing or splitting one's skin with laughter, all testifying to a Provençal taste for joyful bodily exaggeration.