UsageTo swallow — food, drink, pills — but also, figuratively, to 'swallow' an insult, a lie, or an unpleasant situation without protest. An extremely common everyday verb with rich idiomatic use.
Examples- Il a avalé son café d'un trait. — He gulped down his coffee in one go.
- Je n'arrive pas à avaler ce cachet, il est trop gros. — I can't manage to swallow this pill, it's too big.
- Elle a dû avaler des couleuvres pendant toute la réunion. — She had to put up with a lot of humiliation throughout the whole meeting.
Common mistakeThe idiom avaler des couleuvres (literally 'to swallow grass snakes') means to endure insults or humiliation without being able to respond — a learner translating it literally will completely miss the figurative meaning.
In real life- expression avaler des couleuvres — A French idiom dating to the 17th century meaning to endure insults, humiliation, or unpleasant treatment without being able to protest — still in everyday use.
- expression avaler la pilule — A French expression dating to the mid-16th century meaning to accept something unpleasant or a bitter truth without complaint — still commonly used, along with the related faire avaler la pilule (to make someone accept something unpleasant).