The word “cloche” means “bell,” but in French slang, it means “head” or sometimes “idiot.” In the middle of the 19th century, this saying meant to get drunk. But by 1900, it had changed to its present meaning, which is to have a good meal, to banquet, to gorge oneself, to thoroughly enjoy (food & drink) or to eat abundantly. It is connected to the expression “se taper la tête,” which in 1900 meant “to eat.” Equivalent English expressions to “se taper la cloche” would be “to pig out” or “to chow down.”

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