boire at C1 — refined & idiomatic
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Flattery, swallowed water and heavy losses.
Four real idioms
« Boire les paroles de quelqu’un » is to hang on someone’s every word, usually with a hint that the listener admires too easily. « Boire du petit-lait » is what you do when praise is being poured over you and you are quietly loving it: « il buvait du petit-lait pendant les remerciements ». Both are affectionate, faintly mocking, and common in speech and print.
« Boire la tasse » is the swimmer’s mouthful of water, and figuratively a knock taken: a company, a fund, a candidate all « boivent la tasse » when things go badly. « Boire un bouillon » is the same idea one size up, a heavy loss of money on a venture. The difference is scale, not kind, and journalists use both freely.
💡 Focus at this level: Idiomatic — boire les paroles, boire du petit-lait, boire un bouillon
👨🏫 How to use « boire » at this level
1. « Boire les paroles de » = to hang on every word. Slightly mocking.
2. « Boire du petit-lait » = to lap up praise. Quiet, visible pleasure.
3. « Boire un bouillon » = to lose serious money. « Boire la tasse » is the same knock, one size down.
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
Which means enjoying praise: « boire la tasse » or « boire du petit-lait » ?
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« Boire du petit-lait » — quiet delight at compliments; « boire la tasse » is taking a knock.
Finish the idiom: « les élèves buvaient ses… »
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« paroles » — « boire les paroles de quelqu’un » is to hang on their every word.
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🧩 Sentence builder put the words in the right order