This French word actually has Italian origins…
Why do I need to know picoler?
This French word is often used to describe drinking in an informal way.
What does it mean?
The French ER-verb picoler, roughly pronounced pee-koh-lay (listen here), means “to drink alcohol” especially quite a lot of it. Depending on the context it can be used in a neutral but also negative way.
The verb picoler is considered slang to describe drinking. It’s stronger than boire un verre (have a drink) but softer than se bourrer la gueule (get completely wasted).
Read also: ‘I have a wooden face’: All the ways to say you’re drunk or hungover in French
The verb picoler comes from the popular term piccolo, which referred to a light or slightly sour wine. The word itself was borrowed from the Italian piccolo, meaning “small.”
According to the “Dictionnaire d’argot de langue française” (French slang dictionary), picolo or piccolo (“small” in Italian) was introduced by Italian tavern keepers at the end of the 19th century and came to mean “light wine,” “slightly sour wine,” or simply “wine” in general. From this developed the verb picoler.
There’s also a French drinking game called Picolo, available as a smartphone app that generates questions and challenges. The aim is simple: either answer the question truthfully, complete the dare, or take a drink. It was created by French rugby player Stéphane Fort.
Use it like this
J’ai trop picolé ce weekend. Je ne me sens pas en forme. – I drank way too much this weekend. I don’t feel great.
Il picole tous les jours. Je crois qu’il est alcoolique. – He drinks every day. I think he’s an alcoholic.
On ne va pas picoler ce weekend, c’est un weekend detox ! – We’re not going to be drinking alcohol this weekend. It’s detox time.
