The French expression tomber dans les pommes translates literally to “to fall in the apples” and means “to faint” or “to pass out”.
tomber dans les pommes
to faint
Example sentences
Pierre ne peut pas supporter la vue du sang et a chaque fois qu’il en voit il tombe dans les pommes.
Pierre can’t stand the sight of blood and each time he sees it he faints.
Je n’aime pas écouter les détails médicaux et quand je les entends je tombe dans les pommes.
I don’t like listening to medical details and when I hear them I pass out.
Synonyms
- Tourner de l’œil (literally to turn the eye)
- S’évanouir to faint
- Perdre connaissance to lose consciousness
- Perdre conscience (same as above)
- Avoir un évanouissement To have a fainting spell
Expression origin
The origins of this expression are unclear. According to Expressio.fr, the expression first appeared in 1889, with pomme possibly being related to se pâmer, which means”to faint”.
The expression may also be related to the French author, George Sand’s line être dans les pommes cuites (to be in cooked apples), meaning a state of advanced fatigue.
