Breakdown of Cette saleté ne fait qu'engloutir l'argent de tous les clients.
ne
not (used before the verb)
ce
this (before a noun)
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
faire
to do, to make
le client
the client / the customer
l'argent
the money (m)
tout
all, everything
la saleté
the piece of junk
que
only (restrictive 'ne... que')
engloutir
to gobble up
Questions & Answers about Cette saleté ne fait qu'engloutir l'argent de tous les clients.
How exactly does ne fait qu' work here, and could I just use ne ... que without faire?
Ne faire que followed by an infinitive is a structure that means "to do nothing but [verb]". If you just used the standard restriction and said Cette saleté n'engloutit que l'argent, it would mean "This piece of junk gobbles up only the money" (as opposed to gobbling up their credit cards, too). By adding fait, you emphasize that gobbling up money is the only action the machine performs.
I thought saleté meant "dirt". Why is it translated as "piece of junk"?
What is the literal meaning of engloutir?
It literally means "to swallow up" or "to engulf" (like a predator swallowing its prey whole, or the sea engulfing a ship). Using it in this context paints a vivid, dramatic picture of the machine greedily eating everyone's cash.
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