Why do I need to know coincer la bulle ?

Because you might be confused why your coworker is looking forward to playing with bubbles this weekend.

What does it mean?

Coincer la bulle – roughly pronounced kwan-say lah bool – translates as ‘to jam the bubble’ or ‘to catch the bubble’.

The literal definition does not make much sense for non-French people – in practice, coincer la bulle means to relax, do nothing or just take it easy.

You might hear people say this when discussing their plans for a relaxing holiday or perhaps a long lunch break.

As for its origins – French people might attribute this expression to the singer-songwriter Etienne Daho’s 1984 song ‘Week-end à Rome’, where he sings about hanging out in Rome, which contains the lyric “je voudrais tant coincer la bulle dans ta bulle” (‘I’d so like to hangout with you in your space’).

In reality, the expression comes from military jargon during the mid-20th century. During artillery practice, a gunner would have to place their weapon on a support to ensure it was perfectly stable. To check that the weapon was ready to be fired, they would look at the spirit level, or the ‘bubble level’, to ensure that it was perfectly horizontal.

If the balancing bubble was between two marks, then the machine could be used.

However, soldiers usually had to wait in that position for a long time before being given the order to fire. As such, the expression coincer la bulle became a stand-in for laying down or resting.

If you are looking for a more formal way to talk about relaxation, you can use the verb se détendre.

Use it like this

Le spa sera l’endroit idéal pour coincer la bulle ce week-end. – The spa will be the perfect place to relax this weekend.

Tu dois apprendre l’art de coincer la bulle. Il n’est pas nécessaire d’être occupé en permanence. – You need to learn the art of relaxation. There’s no need to be busy all the time.