BOSCO, BOSCOT, BOSCOTTE, _stunted man or woman_; _hunchback_.
BOSSE, _f._ (familiar), _excessive eating and drinking_; _excess of
any kind_. Se donner, se flanquer une ----, _to get a good fill_, “a
tightener.” Se faire des bosses, _to amuse oneself amazingly_. Se
donner, se flanquer une ---- de rire, _to split with laughter_. Rouler
sa ----, _to go along_. Tomber sur la ----, _to attack_, to “pitch
into.”
BOSSELARD, _m._ (familiar), _silk hat_, “tile.”
BOSSER (popular), _to laugh_; _to amuse oneself_.
BOSSMAR, _m._ (thieves’), _hunchback_, “lord.”
BOSSOIRS, _m. pl._ (sailors’), _bosoms_. Gabarit sans ----, _thin
breasts_.
BOTTE, _f._ (popular), de neuf jours, or en gaîté, _boot out at the
sole_. Jours, literally _days_, _chinks_. Du jus de ----, _kicks_.
(Sailors’) Jus de ---- premier brin, _rum of the first quality_.
BOTTER (popular), _to suit_. Ça me botte, _that just suits me, just the
thing for me_. Botter, _to kick one’s breech_, or “to toe one’s bum,”
“to root,” or “to land a kick.”
BOTTIER (popular), _one who is fond of kicking_.
BOUANT, _m._ (cads’), _pig_, or “angel.” From boue, _mud_.
BOUBANE, _f._ (thieves’), _wig_, “periwinkle.”
BOUBOUAR (Breton), _ox_; _cattle in general_.
BOUBOUERIEN (Breton), _threshing machine_.
BOUBOUILLE (popular), _bad cookery_.
BOUC, _m._ (popular), _husband whose wife is unfaithful to him_, a
“cuckold.” Properly _he-goat_; (familiar) _beard on chin_, “goatee.”
BOUCAN, _m._, _great uproar_, “shindy.”
J’ai ma troupe, je distribue les rôles, j’organise
la claque.... J’établis la contre-partie pour les
interruptions et le boucan.--=MACÉ.=
(Popular) Donner un ---- à quelqu’un, _to give a blow or_ “clout” _to
one_.
BOUCANADE, _f._ (thieves’), _bribing or_ “greasing” _a witness_. Coquer
la ----, _to bribe_. Literally _to treat to drink_. In Spain wine is
inclosed in goatskins, hence the expression.
BOUCANER (popular), _to make a great uproar_; _to stink_.
BOUCANEUR, _m._ (popular), _one fond of women, who goes_ “molrowing,”
or a “mutton-monger.”
BOUCANIÈRE, _f._ (popular), _woman too fond of men_.
BOUCARD, _m._ (thieves’), _shop_, “chovey.”
BOUCARDIER, _m._ (thieves’), _thief who breaks into shops_.
BOUCHE-L’ŒIL, _m._ (prostitutes’), _a five, ten, or twenty-franc piece_.
BOUCHER (thieves’), _surgeon_, “nimgimmer;” (familiar) ---- un trou,
_to pay part of debt_; (popular) ---- la lumière, _to give a kick
in the breech_, “to hoof one’s bum,” or “to land a kick.” Lumière,
properly _touch-hole_.
BOUCHE-TROU, _m._ The best scholars in all University colleges are
allowed to compete at a yearly examination called “grand concours.”
The “bouche-trou” is one who acts as a substitute for anyone who for
some reason or other finds himself prevented from competing. (Literary)
_Literary production used as a makeshift_; (theatrical) _actor whose
functions are to act as a substitute in a case of emergency_.
BOUCHON, _m._ (thieves’), _purse_, “skin,” or “poge;” (popular) _a
younger brother_; _bottle of wine with a waxed cork_; _quality, kind_,
“kidney.” Etre d’un bon ----, _to be an amusing, good-humoured fellow_,
or a “brick.” S’asseoir sur le ----, _to sit on the bare ground_.
BOUCLAGE, _m._ (thieves’), _handcuffs_, or “bracelets;” _bonds_;
_imprisonment_.
BOUCLÉ (thieves’), _imprisoned_, or “slowed.”
BOUCLER (thieves’), _to shut_, “to dub;” _to imprison_. Bouclez la
lourde! _shut the door!_
BOUCLE ZOZE, _m._ (thieves’), _brown bread_.
BOUDER (literally _to be sulky_) _is said of a player who does not
call for fresh dominoes when he has the option of doing so_; (popular)
---- à l’ouvrage, _to be lazy_; ---- au feu, _to show fear_; ---- aux
dominos, _to be minus several teeth_.
BOUDIN, _m._ (thieves’), _bolt_; _stomach_.
BOUDINÉ, _m._ (familiar), _swell_, or “masher.” At the time the
expression came into use, dandies sported tight or horsey-looking
clothes, which imparted to the wearer some vague resemblance with a
boudin, or _large sausage_. For list of synonymous expressions, see
GOMMEUX.
BOUDINS, _m. pl._ (popular), _fat fingers and hands_.
BOUEUX, _m._ (popular), _scavenger_.
BOUFFARD, _m._ (popular), _smoker_.
BOUFFARDE, _f._ (popular), _pipe_, or “cutty.”
BOUFFARDER (popular), _to smoke_, to “blow a cloud.”
BOUFFARDIÈRE, _f._ (popular), _an estaminet, that is, a café where
smoking is allowed_; _chimney_.
BOUFFE, _f._ (popular), _box on the ear_, “buckhorse.”
BOUFFE-LA-BALLE, _m._, _gormandizer_, _or_ “stodger;” _man with a fat,
puffed-up, dumpling face_.
BOUFFER (military), la botte, _to be bamboozled by a woman_, in what
circumstances it is needless to say. (Popular) Bouffer, _to eat_. Se
---- le nez, _to fight_.
BOUFFETER (popular), _to chat_.
BOUFFEUR, _m._ (popular), de blanc, _prostitute’s bully_, “pensioner;”
---- de kilomètres, _a nickname for the “Chasseurs de Vincennes,” a
picked body of rifles who do duty as skirmishers and scouts, and who
are noted for their agility_.
BOUFFIASSE, _m._ (popular), _man with fat, puffed-up cheeks_.
BOUGIE, _f._ (popular), _walking-stick_; _a blind man’s stick_; ----
grasse, _candle_.
BOUGRE, _m._ (popular), _stalwart and plucky man, one who is_ “spry;”
---- à poils, _dauntless, resolute man_. Bon ----, _a good fellow_, a
“brick.” Mauvais ----, _man of a snarling, evil-minded disposition_.
The word is used often with a disparaging sense, Bougre de cochon,
_you dirty pig_; ---- de serin, _you ass_. Littré derives the word
bougre from Bulgarus, _Bulgarian_. The heretic Albigeois, who shared
the religious ideas of some of the Bulgarians, received the name of
“bougres.”
BOUGREMENT (popular), _extremely_. C’est ---- difficile, _it is awfully
hard_.
BOUI, _m._ (popular), _house of ill-fame_, “nanny-shop.”
BOUIBOUI, BOUISBOUIS, _m._ _puppet_; _small theatre_; _low music-hall_;
_gambling place_.
BOUIF, _m._ (popular), _conceited_ “priggish” _person_; _bad workman_.
BOUILLABAISSE (popular), _confused medley of things, people, or
ideas_. Properly _a Provençal dish made up of all kinds of fish boiled
together, with spicy seasoning, garlic, &c._
BOUILLANTE, _f._ (soldiers’), _soup_.
BOUILLIE, _f._ (popular), pour les chats, _unsuccessful undertaking_.
Faire de la ---- pour les chats, _to do any useless thing_.
BOUILLON, _m._ (familiar and popular), _rain_; _unsold numbers of a
book or newspaper_; _financial or business losses_; ---- aveugle, _thin
broth_; ---- de canard, _water_; ---- de veau, _mild literature_; ----
d’onze heures, _poison_; _drowning_; ---- gras, _sulphuric acid_ (an
allusion to a case of vitriol-throwing by a woman named Gras); ----
pointu, _bayonet thrust_; _clyster_; ---- qui chauffe, _rain-cloud_.
Boire le ----, _to die_. (Fishermens’) Bouillon de harengs, _shoal of
herrings_.
BOUILLONNER (popular), _to suffer pecuniary losses consequent on the
failure of an undertaking_; _to have a bad sale_; _to eat at a bouillon
restaurant_.
BOUILLONNEUSE, _f._, _female who prepares bouillon at restaurants_.
BOUILLOTE, _f._ (popular), vieille ----, _old fool_, “doddering old
sheep’s head.”
BOUIS, _m._ (thieves’), _whip_.
BOUISER, _to whip_, “to flush.”
BOULAGE, _m._ (popular), _refusal_; _snub_.
BOULANGE, _f._, for boulangerie.
BOULANGER, _m._ (thieves’), _charcoal dealer_; _the devil_, “old
scratch,” or “Ruffin.” Le ---- qui met les damnés au four, _the devil_.
Remercier son ----, _to die_.
BOULANGERS, _m. pl._ (military), _formerly military convicts_ (an
allusion to their light-coloured vestments).
BOULE, _f._ (popular), _head_, “block.” Avoir la ---- détraquée, à
l’envers, _to be crazy_, “wrong in the upper storey.” Boule de jardin,
_bald pate_, “bladder of lard;” ---- de Siam, _grotesque head_; ----
de singe, _ugly face_. Bonne ----, _queer face_, “rum phiz.” Perdre la
----, _to lose one’s head_. Boule de neige, _negro_; ---- rouge, _gay
girl of the Quartier de la Boule Rouge, Faubourg Montmartre_. Yeux en
---- de loto, _goggle eyes_. (Military) Boule de son, _loaf, bread_.
(Thieves’) Boule, _a fair_; _prison loaf_; ---- de son étamé, _white
bread_; ---- jaune, _pumpkin_.
BOULEAU, _m._ See BÛCHERIE.
BOULE-MICHE, _m._, abbreviation of _Boulevard Saint-Michel_.
BOULENDOS, _m._ (boule en dos), (popular), _humpback_, or “lord.”
BOULER (popular), _to thrash_, “to whop;” _to beat at a game, to
deceive, to take in_. Envoyer ----, _to send to the deuce_ (old word
bouler, _to roll along_).
BOULET, _m._ (popular), _bore_; ---- à côtes, à queue, _melon_; ----
jaune, _pumpkin_.
BOULETTE, _f._ (popular), de poivrot, _bunch of grapes_ (poivrot, slang
term for _drunkard_).
BOULEUR, _m._, BOULEUSE, _f._ (theatrical), _actor or actress who takes
the part of absentees in the performance_.
BOULEUX, _m._ (popular), _skittle player_.
BOULEVARDER, _to be a frequenter of the Boulevards_.
BOULEVARDIER, _m._, _one who frequents the Boulevards_; _journalist
who is a frequenter of the Boulevard cafés_. Esprit ----, _kind of wit
peculiar to the Boulevardiers_.
BOULEVARDIÈRE, _f._ (familiar), _prostitute of a better class who walks
the Boulevards_.
Depuis cinq heures du soir la Boulevardière va du grand
Hôtel à Brébant avec la régularité implacable d’un
balancier de pendule.--=PAUL MAHALIN.=
BOULIN, _m._ (thieves’), _hole_. Caler des boulins aux lourdes, _to
bore holes in the doors_.
BOULINE, _f._ (swindlers’), _collection of money_, “break,” or “lead.”
BOULINER (thieves’), _to bore holes in a wall or shutters_; _to steal
by means of the above process_.
BOULINGUER (thieves’), _to tear_; _to conduct an affair_; _to manage_.
Se ----, _to know how to conduct oneself_; _to behave_.
BOULOIRE, _f._ (popular), _bowling-green_.
BOULON, _m._ (thieves’), vol au ----, _theft by means of a rod and hook
passed through a hole in the shutters_.
BOULONNAISE (popular), _girl of indifferent character who walks the
Bois de Boulogne_.
BOULOTS, _m._ (popular), _round shaped beans_.
BOULOTTER (thieves’), _to assist a comrade_; (popular) _to be in good
health_; _to be prosperous_; _to eat_, “to grub;” ---- de la galette,
_to spend money_.
Et tout le monde se disperse, vivement, excepté les trois
compères et le môme, qui rentrent d’un pas tranquille dans
Paris, pour y fricoter l’argent des imbéciles, y boulotter
la galette des sinves.--RICHEPIN, _Le Pavé_.
Eh! bien, ma vieille branche! comment va la place d’armes? Merci, ça
boulotte. _Well, old cock, how are you? Thanks, I am all right_.
BOUM! _a high-sounding, ringing word bawled out in a grave key by café
waiters in order to emphasize their call for coffee to the attendant
whose special duty it is to pour it out_. Versez à l’as! Boum! This
peculiar call was brought into fashion by a waiter of the Café de la
Rotonde at the Palais Royal, whose stentorian voice made the fortune of
the establishment.
BOUQUET, _m._ (cads’), _gift, present_.
BOUQUINE, _f._, _beard grown on the chin_, or “goatee.”
BOURBE, _f._ (popular), _the hospital of “la Maternité_.”
BOURBON (popular), _nose_, “boko.” From nez à la Bourbon, the members
of that dynasty being distinguished by prominent thick noses verging on
the aquiline.
BOURDON, _m._ (thieves’), _prostitute_, “bunter;” (printers’) _words
left out by mistake in composing_.
BOURDONNISTE, _m._ (printers’), _one in the habit of making_ bourdons
(which see).
BOURGEOIS, _m._ (thieves’), for bourg, _a large village_. Literally
_man of the middle class_. The peasants give this appellation to the
townspeople; a coachman to his “fare;” workmen and servants to their
employer; workpeople to the master of a house; soldiers to civilians;
artists and literary men use it contemptuously to denote a man with
matter-of-fact, unartistic tastes, also a man outside their profession;
the anarchists apply the epithet to one who does not share their views.
(Popular) Mon ----, _my husband_, “my old man.” Eh! dites donc, ----,
_I say, governor_. (Officers’) Se mettre en ----, _to dress in plain
clothes, in_ “mufti.” (Familiar) C’est bien ----, _it is vulgar, devoid
of taste_.
BOURGEOISADE, _f._, _anything, whether it be deed or thought, which
savours of the bourgeois’ ways_; _a vulgar platitude_. The bourgeois,
in the disparaging sense of the term of course, is a man of a
singularly matter-of-fact, selfish disposition, and one incapable of
being moved by higher motives than those of personal interest. His
doings, his mode of life, all his surroundings bear the stamp of an
unrefined idiosyncrasy. Though a staunch Conservative at heart, he is
fond of indulging in a timid, mild opposition to Government, yet he
even goes so far sometimes as to send to Parliament men whose views
are at variance with his own, merely to give himself the pleasure
of “teaching a lesson” to the “powers that be.” A man of Voltairian
tendencies, yet he allows his wife and daughters to approach the
perilous secrecy and the allurements of the confessional. When he
happens to be a Republican, he rants furiously about equality, yet he
protests that it is a shocking state of affairs which permits of his
only son and spoilt child being made to serve in the ranks by the side
of the workman or clodhopper. By no means a fire-eater, he is withal a
bloodthirsty mortal and a loud-tongued Chauvinist, but as he has the
greatest respect for the integrity of his person, and entertains a
perfect horror of blows, he likes to see others carry out for him his
pugnacious aspirations in a practical way.
BOURGEOISE, _f._ (popular), _the mistress of a house or establishment_.
Ma ----, _my wife_, “my old woman.”
BOURGERON, _m._ (popular), _small glass of brandy_; (soldiers’) _a
civilian_. Properly _a kind of short smock-frock_.
BOURGUIGNON (popular), _the sun_.
BOURLINGUE, _m._ (popular), _dismissal_, “the sack.”
BOURLINGUER, _to dismiss_; _to get on with difficulty in life_. From a
naval term.
BOURLINGUEUR, _m._ (popular), _master_, “boss;” _foreman_.
BOURRASQUE, _f._ (thieves’), _raid by the police_.
BOURREAU DES CRÂNES, _m._ (military), _bully_, _fire-eater_.
BOURRE-BOYAUX, _m._ (popular), _eating-house_, “grubbing crib.”
BOURRE-COQUINS, _m. pl._ (popular), _beans_. Beans form the staple food
of convicts.
BOURRE-DE-SOIE, _f._ (cads’), _kept girl_, “poll.”
BOURRÉE, _f._ (popular), _hustling_, “hunch.”
BOURRER (familiar), en ---- une, _to smoke a pipe_, “to blow a cloud.”
BOURREUR, _m._ (thieves’), de pègres, _penal code_; (printers’) ----
de lignes, _compositor of the body part of a composition_, a task
generally entrusted to unskilled compositors, unable to deal with more
intricate work.
BOURRICHE, _f._ (popular), _blockhead_, “cabbage-head.” Properly
_hamper_.
BOURRICHON, _m._ (popular), _head_. See TRONCHE. Se monter, or se
charpenter le ----, _to entertain strong illusions_, _to be too
sanguine_.
BOURRICOT (popular), c’est ----, _that comes to the same thing_; _it is
all the same to me_.
BOURRIER, _m._ (popular), _dirt_, _dung_.
BOURRIQUE, _f._ (popular), tourner en ----, _to become stupid, or
crazy_. Faire tourner quelqu’un en ----, _to make one crazy by dint
of badgering or angering_. Cet enfant est toujours à me tourmenter,
il me fera tourner en ----, _this naughty child will drive me mad_.
(Thieves’) Bourrique, _informer_, “nark;” also _police officer_.
BOURRIQUE À ROBESPIERRE (popular), comme la ----, corresponds to the
simile _like blazes_. Saoul comme la ----, _awfully drunk_.
BOURSER (popular), se ----, _to go to bed_, _to get into the_ “doss.”
BOURSICOTER (familiar), _to speculate in a small way on the stocks_.
BOURSICOTEUR, _f._, BOURSICOTIER, _m._ (familiar), _speculator in a
small way_.
BOURSICOTIÉRISME, _m._ (familiar), _occupation of those who speculate
on ’Change_.
BOURSILLONNER (popular), _to_ “club” _for expenses by each contributing
a small sum_.
BOUSCAILLE, _f._ (thieves’), _mud_.
BOUSCAILLEUR, _street-sweeper_, _scavenger_.
BOUSE, _f._ (popular), de vache, _spinach_.
BOUSILLER (popular), _to work rapidly but carelessly and clumsily_.
BOUSILLEUR (popular), _careless_, _clumsy workman_.
BOUSILLEUSE (popular), _woman who is careless of her belongings_, _who
is the reverse of thrifty_.
BOUSIN, _m._ (popular), _uproar_, _disturbance_, _row_, “shindy,”
_drinking-shop_, “lush-crib;” _house of ill-fame_, “flash drum.”
BOUSINEUR (popular), _an adept at creating a disturbance_.
BOUSINGOT, _m._ (popular) _wine-shop_, “lush-crib;” _Republican or
literary Bohemian in the earlier years of Louis Philippe_.
BOUSSOLE, _f._ (familiar), _head_, _brains_. Perdre la ----, _to lose
one’s head_, “to be at sea;” _to become mad_. (Popular) Boussole de
refroidi, or de singe, _a Dutch cheese_.
BOUSTIFAILLE, _f._ (familiar), _provisions_, _food_, “grub.”
BOUSTIFAILLER, _to eat plentifully_.
BOUT, _m._ (tailors’), flanquer son ----, _to dismiss from one’s
employment_. (Military) Bout de cigare, _short man_; (popular) ----
de cul, _short person_, or “forty foot;” ---- d’homme, de femme,
_undersized person_, or “hop o’ my thumb;” ---- coupé, _kind of cheap
cigar with a clipped end_.
BOUTANCHE, _f._ (thieves’), _shop_, “chovey.” Courtaud de ----,
_shopman_, a “knight of the yard.”
BOUTEILLE, _f._ (popular), _nose_, “boko.” Avoir un coup de ----,
_to be tipsy_. C’est la ---- à l’encre _is said of any mysterious,
incomprehensible affair_. (Printers’) Une ---- à encre, _a printing
establishment, thus called on account of the difficulty of drawing up
accurate accounts of authors’ corrections_.
BOUTERNE, _f._ (popular), _glazed case containing jewels exhibited as
prizes for the winners at a game of dice_. The game is played at fairs
with eight dice, loaded of course.
BOUTERNIER, _m._, BOUTERNIÈRE, _f._, _proprietor of a_ bouterne (which
see).
BOUTIQUE, _f._, _used disparagingly to denote one’s employer’s office_;
_newspaper offices_; _disorderly house of business_; _clique_. Esprit
de ----, _synonymous of esprit de corps, but used disparagingly_.
Etre de la ----, _to be one of, to belong to a political clique or
administration of any description_. Montrer toute sa ----, _is said
of a girl or woman who accidentally or otherwise exposes her person_.
Parler ----, _to talk shop_.
BOUTIQUER (popular), _to do anything with reluctance_; _to do it badly_.
BOUTIQUIER, _m._ (familiar), _narrow-minded or mean man_. Literally
_shopkeeper_.
BOUTOGUE, _f._ (thieves’), _shop_, or “chovey.”
BOUTON, _m._ (thieves’), _master key_; (popular) _twenty-franc piece_;
---- de guêtre, _five-franc gold-piece_; ---- de pieu, _bug_, or
“German duck.”
BOUTONNER (familiar), _to touch with the foil_; _to annoy, to bore_.
BOUTURE, _f._ (popular), de putain, low, insulting epithet, which may
be rendered by the equally low one, _son of a bitch_. Bouture, _slip of
a plant_.
BOXON, _m._ (popular), _brothel_, or “nanny-shop.”
BOYAU, _m._ (popular), rouge, _hard drinker_, or “rare lapper.”
BOYE, _m._ (thieves’), _warder_, or “bloke;” _convict who performs the
functions of executioner at the convict settlements of Cayenne or New
Caledonia_.
BRAC, _m._ (thieves’), _name_, “monniker,” or “monarch.”
BRACONNER (gamesters’), _to cheat_, or “to bite.” Properly _to poach_.
BRADER (popular), _to sell articles dirt cheap_.
BRAILLANDE, BRAILLARDE, _f._ (thieves’), _drawers_. From the old word
braies, _breeches_.
BRAILLARD, _m._ (popular), _street singer_, or “street pitcher.”
According to the _Slang Dictionary_, the latter term applies to negro
minstrels, ballad-singers, long-song men, men “working a board” on
which has been painted various exciting scenes in some terrible drama,
&c.
BRAISE, _f._ (popular), _money_, “loaver.” See QUIBUS.
J’ai pas d’braise pour me fend’ d’un litre,
Pas même d’un meulé cass’ à cinq.
=RICHEPIN.=
BRAISER (popular), _to pay_, “to dub.”
BRAISEUR (popular), _man who is very free with his money_.
BRANCARD (popular), _superannuated gay woman_.
BRANCARDS, _m. pl._ (popular), _hands_, or “flappers;” _legs_, or
“pins;” ---- de laine, _weak or lame legs_.
Un poseur qui veut me la faire à la redresse, que ces deux
flûtes repêchées par vous dans la lance du puits n’avaient
jamais porté une femme, je me connais en brancards de
dames, c’est pas ça du tout.--=MACÉ=, _Mon Premier Crime_.
BRANCHE, _f._ (popular), _friend_, “mate.” Ma vieille ----, _old
fellow!_ “old cock!” (Familiar) Avoir de la ----, _to have elegance_,
“dash.”
BRANCHER (thieves’ and cads’), _to lodge_, “to perch,” or “roost.”
BRANDILLANTE, BRANDILLEUSE, _f._ (thieves’), _bell_, or “ringer.”
BRANLANTE, _f._ (popular), _watch_, or “ticker.”
BRANLANTES, _f. pl._ (popular), _old men’s teeth_.
BRANQUE, _m._ (thieves’), _donkey_, “moke.”
BRAS, BRASSE, _adj._ (thieves’), _large_. From brasse, _a fathom_.
BRASER (thieves’), des faffes, _to forge documents_, to “screeve
fakements;” _to forge bank-notes_, or to “fake queer-soft.”
BRASSET, _m._ (thieves’), _big, stout man_.
BRAVE, _m._ (popular), _shoemaker_, or “snob.”
BRÉCHET, _m._ (popular), _stomach_.
BRÈCHETELLES, _f._, _a kind of German cakes eaten at beershops_.
BREDA-STREET, _the quarter of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette patronized by women
of the demi-monde_ (the Paris Pimlico, or St. John’s Wood).
BREDOCHE, _f._ (popular), _centime_.
BREDOUILLE, _f._ (popular), chevalier de la ----, _one who goes out
shooting on Sundays in the purlieus of Paris_. From revenir bredouille,
_to return with an empty bag_.
BRELOQUE, _f._ (popular), _a clock_. Properly _watch trinket_.
BRÈME, _m. and f._ (popular), _vendor of countermarks at the door
of theatres_. Une ----, _f._ (thieves’), _playing card_, “flat,” or
“broad” (brème is a flat fish, _the bream_). Une ---- de pacquelins,
_geographical map_. Maquiller les brèmes, _to handle cards, to play at
cards_, “to fake broads;” _to mark cards in certain ways, to construct
them on a cheating principle_, “to stock briefs.” Maquilleur de brèmes,
_card-sharper_, or “broadsman,” _generally one whose spécialité is the
three-card trick_.
Le perdant, blème, crispe ses poings. Les compères
s’approchent du maquilleur de brèmes (tripoteur de cartes),
qui s’est relevé, avec un éclair mauvais dans ses yeux
ternes ... il se recule et siffle. A ce signal arrive un
gosse, en courant, qui crie d’une voix aiguë: Pet! v’là la
rousse! Décanillons!--=RICHEPIN=, _Le Pavé_.
(Prostitutes’) Une brème, _card delivered by the police to registered
prostitutes_. Fille en ----, _registered prostitute_.
BRÊMEUR, _m._ (thieves’), _card player_, “broad faker.”
BRÊMIER, _m._ (thieves’), _manufacturer of playing cards_.
BRÉSILIEN, _m._ (popular), _wealthy, generous man_, “rag-splawger.”
BRICABRACOLOGIE, _art of dealing in or collecting bric-à-brac or
knick-knacks_.
BRICARD, _m._ (popular), _staircase_.
BRICHETON, _m._ (popular), _bread_; ---- d’attaque, _four-pound loaf_.
BRICOLE, _f._ (popular), _small, odd jobs that only procure scanty
profits_. Properly _a shoulder-strap used by costermongers to draw
their barrows_.
BRICOLER (popular), _to make an effort_; _to give a good pull_; _to do
anything in a hurried and clumsy manner_; _to carry on some affair in a
not over straightforward way_.
BRICOLEUR, _m._ (popular), _man who will undertake any kind of work,
any sundry jobs_.
BRICUL, BRICULÉ, _m._ (thieves’), _police inspector_.
BRIDAUKIL (thieves’), _gold watch chain_, “redge slang,” or “red
tackle.”
BRIDE, _f._ (thieves’), _watch chain_, “slang;” _convict’s chain_.
(Popular) Vieille ----, _worthless, discarded object_; _term of
contempt for individuals_.
BRIDÉ (thieves’), _shackled_.
BRIDER (thieves’), _to shut_, “to dub;” _to fasten on a fetter_, or
“wife.”
BRIF (Breton), _bread_.
BRIFFE, _f._ (popular), _food_, “belly timber;” _bread_, “tommy.”
Passer à ----, _to eat_, “to grub.”
N’importe où nous nous empatons
D’arlequins, d’briffe et d’rogatons.
=RICHEPIN=, _Chanson des Gueux_.
BRIFFER (popular), _to eat_, “to grub.”
BRIGADIER, _m._ (popular), _baker’s foreman_.
BRIGAND, _m._ (popular), _term of friendliness_. Vieux ----, _you old
scamp!_
BRIGANT, BRIGEANT, _m._ (thieves’), _hair_, or “strommel.”
BRIGANTE or BRINGEANTE, _f._ (thieves’), _wig_, or “periwinkle.”
BRIGEANTS or BRINGEANTS, _m. pl._ (thieves’), _hair_, “thatch.” Termed
also “tifs, douilles, douillards.”
BRIGETON, BRICHETON (popular), _bread_, “tommy.”
BRIG-FOURRE, _m._ (military), _brigadier fourrier_.
BRIGNOLET, _m._ (popular), _bread_, “tommy.”
BRILLER (thieves’), _to light_.
BRIMADE, _f._ (military), _euphemism for bullying_; _practical and
often cruel jokes perpetrated at the military school of Saint-Cyr
at the expense of the newly joined_, termed “melons” (“snookers” at
the R. M. Academy), such as tossing one in a blanket, together with
boots, spurs, and brushes, or trying him by a mock court-martial
for some supposed offence. An illustration with a vengeance of such
practical joking occurred some years ago at an English garrison town.
Some young officers packed up a colleague’s traps, without leaving in
the rooms a particle of property, nailed the boxes to the floor, and
laid a he-goat in the bed. On the victim’s arrival they left him no
time to give vent to his indignant feelings, for they cast him into a
fisherman’s net and dragged him downstairs, with the result that the
unfortunate officer barely escaped with his life.
BRIMER, _to indulge in_ brimades (which see).
BRINDE, _f._ (popular), _tall, lanky woman_; _landlord of a wine shop_.
BRINDEZINGUE, _m._ (thieves’), _tin case of very small diameter
containing implements, such as a fine steel saw or a watch-spring,
which they secrete in a peculiar manner_. Says Delvau:--
Comment arrivent-ils à soustraire cet instrument de
délivrance aux investigations les plus minutieuses des
geôliers? C’est ce qu’il faut demander à M. le docteur
Ambroise Tardieu qui a fait une étude spéciale des maladies
de la gaîne naturelle de cet étui.
(Mountebanks’) Etre en ----, _to be ruined_, _a bankrupt_, “cracked
up,” or “gone to smash.”
BRINDEZINGUES, _m. pl._ (popular), être dans les ----, _to be
intoxicated_. From an old word brinde, _toast_.
BRINGUE, _m._ (popular), _bread_, or “soft tommy.” Mettre en ----, _to
smash up_.
BRIO, _m._ (familiar). Properly a _musical term_. Figuratively, Parler,
écrire avec ----, _to speak or write with spirit, in dashing style_.
BRIOCHES, _f._ _pl._ (popular). Literally _gross mistake_.
Figuratively, Faire des ----, _to lead a disorderly life_.
BRIOLET, _m._ (popular), _thin, sour wine_, that is, “vin de Brie.”
BRIQUEMANN, BRIQUEMON, _m._ (military), _cavalry sword_.
BRIQUEMON, _m._ (thieves’), _tinder box_.
BRISAC, _m._ (popular), _careless child who tears his clothes_.
BRISACQUE, _m._ (popular), _noise_; _noisy man_.
BRISANT, _m._ (thieves’), _the wind_.
BRISCARD or BRISQUE, _m._ (military), _old soldier with long-service
stripes_.
BRISE, _f._ (sailors’), à faire plier le pouce, _violent gale_; ---- à
grenouille, _west wind_.
BRISER (printers’), _to cease working_. (Popular) Se la ----, _to go
away_, “to mizzle.” See PATATROT.
BRISEUR, _m._ The “briseurs” (gens qui se la brisent), according to
Vidocq, are natives of Auvergne who pass themselves off for tradesmen.
They at first gain the confidence of manufacturers or wholesale
dealers by paying in cash for a few insignificant orders, and swindle
them afterwards on larger ones. The goods, denominated “brisées,” are
then sold much under value, and the unlawful proceeds are invested in
Auvergne.
BRISQUE, _f._ (thieves’), _year_, or “stretch.”
BRISQUES, _f. pl._ (gamblers’), _the ace and figures in a pack of
cards_. When a player possesses all these in his game he is said to
have “la triomphe;” (military) _stripes_.
BRISURE, _f._ (thieves’), _swindle_, or “plant;” (printers’) _temporary
cessation of work_. Grande ----, _total stoppage of work_.
Au Rappel, la pige dure six heures avec une brisure d’une
demi-heure à dix heures.--=BOUTMY.=
BROBÈCHE, _m._ (popular), _centime_.
BROBUANTE, _f._ (thieves’), _ring_, “fawney.”
BROC, _m._ (thieves’), _farthing_, or “fadge.”
BROCANTE, _m._ (popular), _old shoe_.
BROCANTER (familiar), _to be pottering about_.
BROCHE, _f._ (tradespeoples’), _note of hand_, or “stiff.”
BROCHES, _f. pl._ (popular), _teeth_, or “head rails.”
BROCHET, _m._ (popular), _pit of the stomach_, for bréchet; _women’s
bully_, or “ponce.”
BROCHETON, _m._ (popular), _young bully_.
BROCHURE, _f._ (theatrical), _printed play_.
BRODAGE, _m._ (thieves’), _writing_.
BRODANCHER (thieves’), _to write_; _to embroider_. Tirants brodanchés,
_embroidered stockings_.
BRODANCHEUR, _m._ (thieves’), _writer_; ---- en cage, _scribe who
for a consideration will undertake to do an illiterate person’s
correspondence_ (termed écrivain public); ---- à la plaque, aux
macarons, or à la cymbale, _notary public_ (an allusion to the
escutcheon placed over a notary’s door).
BRODÉ, _m._ (thieves’), _melon_.
BRODER (thieves’), _to write_; ---- sur les prêts _is said of a
gamester who, having lent a colleague a small sum of money, claims a
larger amount than is due to him._
BRODERIE, _f._ (thieves’), _writing_.
Pas de broderie, par exemple, tu connais le proverbe,
les écrits sont des mâles, et les paroles sont des
femelles.--=VIDOCQ=, _Mémoires_.
BRODEUR, _m._ (thieves’), _writer_; also _a gamester who claims a
larger sum than is due to him._
BROQUE, _m._ (thieves’), _farthing_. Il n’y a ni ronds, ni herplis,
ni broque en ma felouse. _I haven’t got a sou, or a farthing, in my
pocket._
BROQUILLAGE, _m._ (thieves’), _theft which consists in substituting
paste diamonds for the genuine article which a jeweller displays for
the supposed purchaser’s inspection_.
BROQUILLE, _f._ (theatrical), _nothing_. Used in the expression, Ne pas
dire une ----, _not to know a single word of one’s part_; (thieves’) _a
ring_, or “fawney;” _a minute_.
BROQUILLEUR, _m._, BROQUILLEUSE, _f._ (thieves’), _thief who robs
jewellers by substituting paste diamonds for the genuine which are
shown to him as to a bonâ-fide purchaser_.