Why do I need to know bide?

Because if someone asks you about your bide à bière, they're unfortunately not offering to get the next round at the bar.

What does it mean?

Bide means ‘belly’ in English, so bide à bière is the same as 'beer belly'.

Bide is more colloquial than ventre, so use it in informal settings.

J'ai trop mange, je me suis pété le bide – I ate too much, I destroyed my belly.

Il faut que je me remette au sport. Tu as vu mon bide? – I need to start working out again. Have you seen my belly?

Ca y est ! Je n'en peux plus de mon bide. Je me mets au régime dès qu'on sort du confinement. – That's it! I can't deal with my belly anymore. As soon as we get out of lockdown I'm going on a diet.

If you’re worried about getting a bit of a bide during the coronavirus lockdown period, you could check out the French Foreign Legion’s kickass workout video to get your juices flowing.

But if all this talk about getting a bide during the lockdown is making you a little stressed, you could say

J'ai la boule au bide – My stomach is in knots.

(However boule au ventre is more common.) 

Synonyms

Bidon – belly

Brioche – belly (slang)

Ventre – belly

Alternatively

Bide can also mean a 'flop' (when a joke falls flat and no one laughs)

Se bidonner – laugh (think about the belly shaking when you laugh)