In more ways than one, the French language has embraced caviar with a certain fascination, integrating it into its culinary vocabulary, cultural imagination, and linguistic heritage, thereby reflecting its importance in society.
One expression suggests that caviar has become one of the most luxurious foods in the world. The aforementioned luxury momentarily forgot its place in gastronomy to enter Littré and other dictionaries. Writers and poets have referred to black gold to evoke notions such as opulence, luxury, and extravagance. The richness of the French lexicon has since delighted in this, gradually elevating it, grain by grain, to the status of an icon and, at the same time, a cultural symbol, granting it its deserved place in the collective imagination. Its popularity has inspired idiomatic expressions, proverbs, and quotations in the French language. These linguistic turns highlight the symbolic value of caviar, whether to emphasize an exceptional situation, a rare pleasure, or a sense of privilege. A selection follows…
Expressions and proverbs
- "C’est du caviar" refers to a product or something very refined.
- "Manger du caviar à la louche" refers to a rather opulent lifestyle.
- "Caviarder un article" means to censor it; the expression comes from blackening the text to conceal it.
- "Il lui a donné un caviar" is used to describe a perfect pass leading to a goal, especially in football.
- "On ne donne pas du caviar à des cochons" – Quebec proverb.
Quotations
- "You can love caviar and still want a veal blanquette." – Guy Bedos, French comedian, music-hall artist, actor, and screenwriter.
- "The opposite of the 'caviar left', the 'sardine in oil right', does not exist." – Jean-François Kahn, journalist and essayist.
- "The day sturgeons learn the price of caviar, they will become pretentious." – José Artur, French actor and radio personality.
- "People wouldn’t eat caviar if it were cheap." – Groucho Marx, American comedian, actor, and writer, part of the Marx Brothers.
- "Eating caviar by the ladle… How snobbish one must be, between us… It’s not better by the ladle." – Coluche, comedian.
And if we were to define it…
- "Happiness is a rare pearl called caviar."
- "Caviar is a fleeting luxury that provides a divine sensation with every bite."
- "Caviar, that black talisman that enchants the palate…"
- "Through each grain, experiencing both a journey between dream and reality…"
