Literal Translation
To be to bite
Actual Meaning
To be adorable
Etymology
This expression evokes such endearing beauty that one would want to bite into the person! But originally, it did not refer to biting. The verb ‘croquer’ meant ‘to draw quickly’ or ‘to sketch’, as its name suggests, ‘to make a sketch’. To say that a person was ‘à croquer’ was therefore to say that they were so charming that one would like to paint their portrait. An artistic origin that is often overlooked.