---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 'Escargot' is French for 'fat crawling…"
description: "\"'Escargot' is French for 'fat crawling bag of phlegm'.\" — Dave Barry"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/672/dave-barry-222_crawling_escargot-is-french-for-fat-crawling-bag_2466763.png"
---

#  'Escargot' is French for 'fat crawling bag of phlegm'.

![“'Escargot' is French for 'fat crawling bag of phlegm'.” quote by Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/672/dave-barry-222_crawling_escargot-is-french-for-fat-crawling-bag_2466763.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/672/dave-barry-222_crawling_escargot-is-french-for-fat-crawling-bag_2466763.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/672/dave-barry-222_crawling_escargot-is-french-for-fat-crawling-bag_2466763.png)

> “'Escargot' is French for 'fat crawling bag of phlegm'.”

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The joke mocks the French word for escargot by describing it with an unflattering literal translation, highlighting humor in language differences.

**In simple terms:** A humorous literal translation of a French word.

Key Takeaway

Don’t take language literally; enjoy wordplay.

Themes

humor language culture wordplay

Mood

playful ironic

Type

satirical observational

When to use this quote

- travel
- language learning
- food criticism
- cross‑cultural communication

Key Concepts

etymology semantic distortion cultural contrast

Questions to Reflect On

- How does literal translation affect perception?
- When does wordplay become offensive?

A Different Perspective

Humor may reinforce stereotypes if not contextualized.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [The French are not rude. They just happen to hate you. But that is no reason to bypass this beautiful country, whose master chefs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-french-are-not-rude-they-just-happen-to-hate-you-but-that-is-no/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [Escargot is pretty good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-sprouse/escargot-is-pretty-good/)

[Dylan Sprouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-sprouse/)

> [Even I have a hard time manipulating escargot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-hilton/even-i-have-a-hard-time-manipulating-escargot/)

[Kathy Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-hilton/)

> [I made a lot of exits through side doors, down fire escapes or over rooftops. I abandoned more wardrobes in the course of five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-abagnale/i-made-a-lot-of-exits-through-side-doors-down-fire-escapes-or-over/)

[Frank Abagnale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-abagnale/)

> [I'm not a big weird eater-of-things. I mean honestly I would say like for me, like escargot or sweetbreads is the weirdest thing I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-benanti/i-m-not-a-big-weird-eater-of-things-i-mean-honestly-i-would-say-like/)

[Laura Benanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-benanti/)

> [Bring me an order of escargots, but hold the slugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/bring-me-an-order-of-escargots-but-hold-the-slugs/)

[Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/)

> [One of my favorites to order in fancy restaurants is escargot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-prout/one-of-my-favorites-to-order-in-fancy-restaurants-is-escargot/)

[Kirsten Prout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-prout/)

> [Zombies smell worse than anything you can imagine if you haven’t been hunting things on the dark side of the world. It’s a ripe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilith-saintcrow/zombies-smell-worse-than-anything-you-can-imagine-if-you-haven-t-been/)

[Lilith Saintcrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilith-saintcrow/)

> [“I felt like crawling off and finding a way to kick myself in the rear. One twist of the leg, might not be too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-habel/i-felt-like-crawling-off-and-finding-a-way-to-kick-myself-in-the-rear/)

[Lia Habel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-habel/)

> [How strange and wonderful is our home, our earth, with its swirling vaporous atmosphere, its flowing and frozen liquids, its trembling plants, its creeping,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/how-strange-and-wonderful-is-our-home-our-earth-with-its-swirling/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [WHEN AUGUSTUS CAME OUT on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake—not a very big one. It had probably just been crawling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/when-augustus-came-out-on-the-porch-the-blue-pigs-were-eating-a/)

[Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/)

> [It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank clothed with many plants of many kinds with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-interesting-to-contemplate-an-entangled-bank-clothed-with-many/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [Imagine an eye unruled by man-made laws of perspective, an eye unprejudiced by compositional logic, an eye which does not respond to the name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-brakhage/imagine-an-eye-unruled-by-man-made-laws-of-perspective-an-eye/)

[Stan Brakhage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-brakhage/)

> [“Crawling eldritch horrors don’t get planning permission unless they’re Trump’s hairpiece.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/crawling-eldritch-horrors-don-t-get-planning-permission-unless-they/)

[Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/)

> [Hollywood gives a young girl the aura of one giant, self-contained orgy farm, its inhabitants dedicated to crawling into every pair of pants they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-lake/hollywood-gives-a-young-girl-the-aura-of-one-giant-self-contained/)

[Veronica Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-lake/)

## More by Dave Barry

> [This is true; virtually all edible substances, and many automotive products, are now marketed as being low-fat or fat-free. Americans are obsessed with fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/this-is-true-virtually-all-edible-substances-and-many-automotive/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [This ball was so crowded that it took me - a trained professional journalist with vast experience in this area - forty five minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/this-ball-was-so-crowded-that-it-took-me-a-trained-professional/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [The hardest thing about being a guy is that women don't accept that you really are just a simple, pathetic, labrador retriever-like creature. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-hardest-thing-about-being-a-guy-is-that-women-don-t-accept-that/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [The ultimate camping trip was the Lewis and Clark expedition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-ultimate-camping-trip-was-the-lewis-and-clark-expedition/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [Although golf was originally restricted to wealthy, overweight Protestants, today it's open to anybody who owns hideous clothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/although-golf-was-originally-restricted-to-wealthy-overweight/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [Entire new continent can emerge from the ocean in the time it takes for a Web page to show up on your screen. Contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/entire-new-continent-can-emerge-from-the-ocean-in-the-time-it-takes/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [He was distracted by a giggle, and turned to see a rare sight: a girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/he-was-distracted-by-a-giggle-and-turned-to-see-a-rare-sight-a-girl/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [The major parties could conduct live human sacrifices on their podiums during prime time, and I doubt that anybody would notice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-major-parties-could-conduct-live-human-sacrifices-on-their/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [If you look at any list of great modern writers such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, you'll notice two things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/if-you-look-at-any-list-of-great-modern-writers-such-as-ernest/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [Don't you wish you had a job like mine? All you have to do is think up a certain number of words! Plus, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/don-t-you-wish-you-had-a-job-like-mine-all-you-have-to-do-is-think-up/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [“Despite the gulf, physical and cultural, between the United States and Japan, both societies are, in the end, made up of people, and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/despite-the-gulf-physical-and-cultural-between-the-united-states-and/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [Before going on a diet you should consult your doctor, or at least send him some money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/before-going-on-a-diet-you-should-consult-your-doctor-or-at-least/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [Never trust anything you read in a travel article.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/never-trust-anything-you-read-in-a-travel-article/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it "Christmas" and went to church; the Jews called it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/in-the-old-days-it-was-not-called-the-holiday-season-the-christians/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [Always remember that if editors were so damned smart, they would know how to dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/always-remember-that-if-editors-were-so-damned-smart-they-would-know/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

[Explore all 867 Dave Barry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

## More Crawling quotes

> [Hollywood gives a young girl the aura of one giant, self-contained orgy farm, its inhabitants dedicated to crawling into every pair of pants they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-lake/hollywood-gives-a-young-girl-the-aura-of-one-giant-self-contained/)

[Veronica Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-lake/)

> [“Crawling eldritch horrors don’t get planning permission unless they’re Trump’s hairpiece.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/crawling-eldritch-horrors-don-t-get-planning-permission-unless-they/)

[Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/)

> [Imagine an eye unruled by man-made laws of perspective, an eye unprejudiced by compositional logic, an eye which does not respond to the name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-brakhage/imagine-an-eye-unruled-by-man-made-laws-of-perspective-an-eye/)

[Stan Brakhage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-brakhage/)

> [It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank clothed with many plants of many kinds with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-interesting-to-contemplate-an-entangled-bank-clothed-with-many/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [WHEN AUGUSTUS CAME OUT on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake—not a very big one. It had probably just been crawling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/when-augustus-came-out-on-the-porch-the-blue-pigs-were-eating-a/)

[Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/)

> [How strange and wonderful is our home, our earth, with its swirling vaporous atmosphere, its flowing and frozen liquids, its trembling plants, its creeping,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/how-strange-and-wonderful-is-our-home-our-earth-with-its-swirling/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [“I felt like crawling off and finding a way to kick myself in the rear. One twist of the leg, might not be too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-habel/i-felt-like-crawling-off-and-finding-a-way-to-kick-myself-in-the-rear/)

[Lia Habel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-habel/)

> [Zombies smell worse than anything you can imagine if you haven’t been hunting things on the dark side of the world. It’s a ripe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilith-saintcrow/zombies-smell-worse-than-anything-you-can-imagine-if-you-haven-t-been/)

[Lilith Saintcrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilith-saintcrow/)

> [I think back to the day I drove Michelle and a newborn Malia home from the hospital nearly 11 years ago - crawling along,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-back-to-the-day-i-drove-michelle-and-a-newborn-malia-home/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream. That's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-brando/i-watched-a-snail-crawl-along-the-edge-of-a-straight-razor-that-s-my/)

[Marlon Brando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-brando/)

> [No one hid their interest when I walked into the room. I'm not sure if it was the news about Boo or my general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/no-one-hid-their-interest-when-i-walked-into-the-room-i-m-not-sure-if/)

[Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/)

> [“Now,” the Lopen said to her, “you gotta have two hands to properly crawl. I came up with my own version, sure, when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/now-the-lopen-said-to-her-you-gotta-have-two-hands-to-properly-crawl/)

[Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/)

> [To find anything comparable with our forthcoming ventures into space, we must go back far beyond Columbus, far beyond Odysseus-far, indeed, beyond the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/to-find-anything-comparable-with-our-forthcoming-ventures-into-space/)

[Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/)

> [The world is crawling with authors touring now. They're like performance artists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/the-world-is-crawling-with-authors-touring-now-they-re-like/)

[Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/)

> [How many colors are there in a field of grass to the crawling baby unaware of 'Green'?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-brakhage/how-many-colors-are-there-in-a-field-of-grass-to-the-crawling-baby/)

[Stan Brakhage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-brakhage/)

Browse all 236 Crawling quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "'Escargot' is French for 'fat crawling bag of phlegm'.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Dave Barry"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/escargot-is-french-for-fat-crawling-bag-of-phlegm/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Crawling"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/escargot-is-french-for-fat-crawling-bag-of-phlegm/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/672/dave-barry-222_crawling_escargot-is-french-for-fat-crawling-bag_2466763.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/672/dave-barry-222_crawling_escargot-is-french-for-fat-crawling-bag_2466763.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/672/dave-barry-222_crawling_escargot-is-french-for-fat-crawling-bag_2466763.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“'Escargot' is French for 'fat crawling bag of phlegm'.” — Dave Barry",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Dave Barry",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "'Escargot' is French for 'fat crawling...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/escargot-is-french-for-fat-crawling-bag-of-phlegm/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/escargot-is-french-for-fat-crawling-bag-of-phlegm/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
