Languages › French À poil French Expressions Analyzed and Explained Share Flipboard Email Print French Vocabulary Pronunciation & Conversation Grammar Resources For Teachers By ThoughtCo Team Updated on February 19, 2019 Expression: à poil Pronunciation: [a pwal]Meaning: stark naked, in the buffLiteral translation: in hairRegister: familiar Notes: The French expression à poil refers to body hair - when you are à poil, you're wearing nothing but your own hair. It's equivalent to the English expression "in one's birthday suit." ExampleN'ouvre pas la porte - je suis à poil !Don't open the door - I'm completely naked!À poil can be used as an adjective or as a command in numerous expressions:être à poil - to be stark nakedse baigner à poil - to go skinny-dippingse mettre à poil - to strip down to one's birthday suitun mec / une fille à poil - a naked guy / girlÀ poil ! - Take 'em off!Synonyms:nu - naked, nudedéshabillé - undresseden costume d'Adam/d'Ève (old-fashioned) - in one's birthday suiten tenue d'Adam/d'Ève - in one's birthday suitAttention: the French expression au poil is an informal way to say "great!" or "perfect!" Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Team, ThoughtCo. "À poil." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/a-poil-1371088. Team, ThoughtCo. (2023, April 5). À poil. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/a-poil-1371088 Team, ThoughtCo. "À poil." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/a-poil-1371088 (accessed May 31, 2023). copy citation