Sabrer le champagne

When Julie finally finished her PhD after five years of caffeine abuse and sleepless nights, her friends decided it was time to “saber the champagne.” Unfortunately, the only “saber” available was a slightly bent butter knife, and the champagne itself came from the grocery’s “on sale” aisle. Still, glory is glory.

In everyday French, sabrer le champagne means to celebrate in a spectacular, over-the-top way, ideally with dramatic flair and minimal dignity. Figuratively speaking, it’s about popping champagne and celebrating big and loud, even if reality doesn’t quite match the legend and the glassware has clearly not signed up for this level of ambition.

Origin

The expression comes from a real and highly theatrical tradition known as champagne sabrage.  In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, particularly during the Napoleonic era, when everyone seemed to own a horse and a weapon - cavalry officers supposedly opened champagne bottles using their sabers.  Still mounted on horseback (because getting off would ruin the vibe), they would strike the neck of the bottle with their saber, neatly slicing off the top of the bottle. No corkscrew. No hesitation. No safety goggles.

This dramatic move symbolized victory, bravado, and celebration.  A famous quote often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte sums it up nicely (though historians are still arguing about whether he actually said it or just should have):  « En victoire, on mérite le champagne ; en défaite, on en a besoin. (In victory, you deserve champagne; in defeat, you need it.)

One important clarification: sabrer le champagne should not be confused with the very similar-sounding sabler le champagne. They may sound like twins, but they have different personalities.   Sabler le champagne also means to celebrate by drinking champagne, but its origin is much fuzzier - and still debated by linguists who enjoy a good mystery almost as much as a good drink.  One theory goes back to earlier centuries, when wine was often drunk from rough glasses that were cleaned with sand (sable in French). Preparing the glasses this way before a toast may have led sabler to mean to drink in celebration.  Another, widely supported hypothesis points out that in old French slang, sabler simply meant to drink quickly -  which feels both efficient and festive.

So while sabrer evokes cavalry officers, horses, and flying bottlenecks, sabler evokes friends clinking glasses - and a bit of linguistic mystery.  Either way, the message is clear: when life happens, good or bad, champagne is the answer!

Examples

L’équipe de foot a sabré le champagne après sa victoire en finale.
The soccer team celebrated with champagne after their final victory.

Après sa promotion, ils ont sablé le champagne au bureau.
After his promotion, they popped champagne at the office.