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Familiar French Expression
| Meaning | stark naked, in the buff | |
| Literally | in hair | |
| Register | familiar | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[ah pwal] |
| IPA | [a pwal] | |
Usage notes: Un poil is a hair, especially one on the body rather than the head. So the familiar French expression à poil means "naked": the person is wearing nothing but their own body hair.
Par exemple…
| Il était là, à poil. | There he was, stark naked. | |
| À poil ! | Take ’em off! Strip! |
Synonyms
| dans le plus simple appareil | in one’s birthday suit | |
| déshabillé | undressed | |
| en costume d’Adam/d’Ève (old-fashioned) | in one’s birthday suit | |
| en tenue d’Adam/d’Ève | in one’s birthday suit | |
| nu | naked, nude |
Expressions with à poil
| être à poil | to be stark naked | |
| la baignade à poil | skinny-dipping | |
| se baigner à poil | to skinny-dip | |
| se mettre à poil | to strip down to one’s birthday suit |
Poil also refers to animal hair.
- à poil blanc – white-haired
- à poil ras – short-haired
- un bichon à poil frisé – bichon frise
- un bonnet à poils – bearskin cap
- gibier à poil – game animals
- un terrier à poils durs – wire-haired terrier
Similar but unrelated expression: Au poil ! – Great! Perfect!
- arriver au poil – to arrive in the nick of time, at just the right time
- Ça me va au poil – That’s fine by me
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