Blague sur les règles, les œufs et les poules

What does “gober” mean in French?

“Gober un œuf” is to down a raw egg in one gulp, no chewing — the literal sense of “gober,” to swallow by suction. The fun is the second meaning: to “gober” a story is to believe it whole and uncritically, just as English says you “swallowed” a lie. One verb, both the gullible person and the gulped-down egg.

“Elle gobe tout ce qu’on lui dit” means she’ll believe anything. There’s also the dreamy “gober les mouches” (to swallow flies) — to stand around gawping, lost in a daydream. The egg-and-oyster image is so fixed that French speakers picture exactly that head-tilted, one-gulp move whenever “gober” comes up.