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Is there an expression/idiom in English that carries pretty much the same connotation as what is implied by French "péter de santé"?

WordReference actually gives for translation, "be bursting with health."

I'm not happy with that, though, because "burst" doesn't seem to convey in English all what the word "péter" carries in French.

Fact is, "péter de (or la) santé" conveys more something along the lines of, be/look so healthy/in great shape that it is indecent or might appear so to others.

And so, is there a raw, slangy phrase or idiom in English that might connote that idea of "being bursting with health to the point of indecency, or of being likely to appear indecent to others?

péter

vi

familier (émettre un gaz naturel) (colloquial) fart vi

(formal) pass wind/gas, break wind/gas v expr

(slang) drop one v expr : blow off vi + prep

manger à s'en faire péter le bide

familier (colloquial) eat til' bursting v; eat til' you burst

péter la santé

familier (colloquial) be in great health, be bursting with health v

As an example sentence, you might consider,

Check out that dude in black shorts, he looks [so healthy that it is indecent.)

EDIT:

Actually, I'm looking for something coarse/vulgar, with just about the same flavor as A Fish Named Wanda's famous line: Raw Quote

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  • 1
    Not a common expression, but I'd say "irrepressibly healthy" – JeffSahol Mar 23 '16 at 18:25
  • Related english.stackexchange.com/questions/234385/… – Digital Trauma Mar 23 '16 at 21:17
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    it's more "péter la forme" in French, péter here means "déborder", have excessive energy/health – caub Mar 23 '16 at 21:51
  • "Bursting with health" is actually a fairly common English expression, with roughly the meaning you seek (though of late it's been co-opted as a business name/slogan). google.com/… – Hot Licks Mar 23 '16 at 22:04
  • No there is no exactly corresponding saying, one that captures the superficial meaning and has the same vulgarity. Your statement 'so healthy it is indecent' probably gives the listener the closest feeling as the original, sounds natural (but is not really a set phrase like 'péter la santé') – Mitch Mar 23 '16 at 22:48
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In English we have an expression that basically means someone is very healthy:

"fit as a fiddle" (which if taken literally, brings a strange picture to mind!)

According to the website knowyourphrase.com, the expression "fit as a fiddle" was used in the book "English-men for my Money", written in the year 1616 by Haughton William. Towards the end of the book, it reads:

"This is excellent ynfayth, as fit as a fiddle."

Another similarly alliterative expression is:

"healthy as a horse"

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  • @Elian - I'm baffled how this answer has satisfied your question. I realise that the 'indecency' you want may not be along the lines of my answer below, however fit as a fiddle is so very 'safe', 'jolly' and 'middle England'. In no way does it satisfy your OP final edit for something along the lines of the Kevin Kline clip ? – Dan Apr 3 '16 at 13:50
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A word that captures the expression is blooming.

M-W Unabridged defines blooming as:

thriving in health, beauty, and vigor : exhibiting the freshness and beauties of youth or health

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Bright eyed and bushy tailed! and by the way it's 'Péter la santé'

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    This phrase is most often used to describe someone in the early morning who is eager and rearing to go when others are are still bleary-eyed. – Jim Mar 23 '16 at 19:18
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I'd say that "he's looking obscenely healthy" would very much meet the description.

References are not quite easy to come by since the adverb has distinctly different connotations than the adjective. However I found:

From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: obscenely adv 1: to an obscene degree; "this man is obscenely rich" 2: in a lewd and obscene manner; "he had seen how in their dances the white men and women held one another obscenely" [syn: {lewdly}, {obscenely}]

Meaning 2 is what you usually get when applying to a verb (and the meaning is related to the usual meaning of the adjective "obscene") while meaning 1 is what is commonly understood when applied to an adjective, and that's what is being used here.

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Quite similar to French "péter la santé" or "péter la forme":

To be in killer shape.

Example: She was in killer shape (the best shape of her life), but she still worried about the size of her hips, the extra weight on the inside of her thighs, and whether her tummy was flat enough.

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The 'raw, slangy phrase or idiom' that comes to mind is the apparently innocuous fit (extremely good looking, synonymous with "hot" and "sexy").

Or, you might say that someone is in rude health (where 'rude' means robust, vigorous (OED)).

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  • 'fit' is slangy to you? It's pretty formal to me, usable in a newspaper or with the queen. – Mitch Mar 23 '16 at 22:45
  • @Mitch - the usual, OED definition of fit ('in Horse Racing or Athletics') is in good ‘form’ or condition; hence, colloquially, in good health, perfectly well. 'Fit' meaning 'hot and sexy' is a raw and slangy extended meaning deriving from this, wouldn't you say? For myself, I wouldn't easily leer to any member of the royal family how 'fit' her majesty is looking ;-) – Dan Mar 23 '16 at 22:52
  • Dan, I feel like I've heard that usage but it is not the first meaning that comes to mind. Can you give an example where it would be apparent in meaning different from the innocuous one? ('She is fit!' is not really distinguishing). – Mitch Mar 24 '16 at 0:17
  • @mitch - What can I say? It's slang, more spoken than written, and like a lot of slang, usefully ambiguous. Maybe more UK than US ? Another link here - internetslang.com/FIT-meaning-definition.asp – Dan Mar 24 '16 at 0:52
  • Dan, yes, probably UK. So it might work in this context. – Mitch Mar 24 '16 at 1:11
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You could say "He is the picture of health"

But it doesn't fit the "coarse/vulgar" requirement of your later edit.

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lousy with good health

Southern version: Et up with good health

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