The French expression avoir la dalle translates literally to “to have the throat”. La dalle is a slang word for la gorge (throat). English translations of the idiom are: to be very hungry, famished or starved. The French-to-French translation is avoir très faim (to be very hungry).
avoir la dalle
to be very hungry
Example sentences
Oh là là ! J’ai la dalle ! À quelle heure est-ce qu‘on mange ?
Oh, I’m starved. What time are we eating?
The expression crever la dalle is a bit strong than avoir la dalle. The verb crever means to die.
crever la dalle
to be very hungry (slightly stronger)
Here’s an example:
Je crève la dalle. J’ai tellement envie de manger.
I’m so hungry. I want really want to eat.
Expression origin
The French word “dalle” comes from the ancient Scandinavian daéla, which means gutter, sink or a hollow pip that allows drainage. By the fourteenth century, the term dalle was used to refer to the throat and esophagus. The adjective dalleux refers to a big eat who’s never satisfied.
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