Abbiocco

Delightfully weirdculturepsychology

Etymology

Italian, colloquial and especially common in and around Rome. Its origin is uncertain; one proposal links it to "chioccia" ("a broody hen"), evoking the settled, sleepy heaviness of a nesting bird, but this is not firmly established. English has the slang "food coma," yet no single standard word.

  1. noun · /ah-BYAWK-koh/

    The drowsy heaviness that sets in after eating a big meal.

    What it names

    That specific post-lunch sleepiness when a full stomach makes your eyelids sink.

    Example

    After that plate of pasta, the abbiocco hit and I could barely keep my eyes open.

    Related idea

    Unlike general drowsiness, abbiocco names a cause as well as a feeling: it is specifically the meal that brings it on.

See also

Comfort foodDigestifHangryKummerspeckLanguorNightcapNoshSobremesaTorpor