CHIARDER (schoolboys’), _to work_, “to sweat.”
CHIASSE, _f._ (popular), avoir la ----, _to suffer from diarrhœa_, or
“jerry-go-nimble.”
CHIBIS, _m._ (thieves’), faire ----, _to escape from prison_; _to
decamp_, “to guy.” See PATATROT.
J’ai fait chibis. J’avais la frousse
Des préfectanciers de Pantin.
A Pantin, mince de potin!
On y connaît ma gargarousse.
=RICHEPIN=, _Chanson des Gueux_.
CHIC, _m._ (English slang), “tzing tzing,” or “slap up.” The word has
almost ceased to be slang, but we thought it would not be out of place
in a work of this kind. (Familiar) Chic, _finish_; _elegance_; _dash_;
_spirit_. Une femme qui a du ----, une robe qui a du ----, _a stylish
woman or dress_. Cet acteur joue avec ----, _this actor plays in a
spirited manner_. Ça manque de ----, _it wants dash, is commonplace_.
Pourri de ----, _most elegant_, “nobby.” Chic, _knack_; _originality_;
_manner_. Il a le ----, _he has the knack_. Il a un ---- tout
particulier, _he has a manner quite his own_. Il a le ---- militaire,
_he has a soldier-like appearance_. Peindre de ----, faire de ----,
écrire de ----, _to paint or write with imaginative power, but without
much regard for accuracy_.
Vous croyez peut-être que j’invente, que je brode
d’imagination et que je fais de chic cette seconde
vie.--=RICHEPIN.=
CHIC, CHIQUE, _adj._, _excellent_, “fizzing;” _dashing_, _stylish_.
Un pékin ----, _well-dressed, rich man_. Un homme ----, _a man of
fashion_, _a well-dressed one_, _a well-to-do man_. Un ---- homme, _a
good, excellent man_.
CHICAN, _m._ (thieves’), _hammer_.
CHICANDARD. See CHICARD.
CHICANDER (popular), _to dance the “Chicard step.”_ See CHICARD.
CHICANE, _f._ (thieves’), grinchir à la ----, _stealing the purse or
watch of a person while standing in front of him, but with the back
turned towards him_--a feat which requires no ordinary dexterity.
CHICARD, _m._ (popular), _buffoon character of the carnival, in fashion
from 1830 to 1850_. The first who impersonated it was a leather-seller,
who invented a new eccentric step, considered to be exceedingly “chic;”
hence probably his nickname of Chicard. His “get-up” consisted of a
helmet with high plume, jackboots, a flannel frock, and large cavalry
gloves. Pas ----, _step invented by M. Chicard_.
CHICARD, CHICANCARDO, CHICANDARD, _adj._, _superlative of_ “chic,”
“tip-top,” “out and out,” “slap up,” “tzing tzing.”
CHICARDER, _to dance the Chicard step_. See CHICARD.
CHIC ET CONTRE, _warning which mountebanks address to one another_.
CHICHE! (popular), _an exclamation expressive of defiance_.
CHICKSTRAC, _m._ (military), _refuse_, _dung_, _excrement_. Corvée de
----, _fatigue duty for sweeping away the refuse, and especially for
emptying cesspools_.
CHICMANN, _m._ (popular), _tailor_. A great many tailors in Paris bear
Germanic names; hence the termination of the word.
CHICORÉE, _f._ (popular), c’est fort de ----, _it is really too bad!_
Ficher de la ----, _to reprimand_, “to give a wigging.” Faire sa ----,
_is said of a person with affected or_ “high-falutin” _airs_. Ne fais
donc pas ta ----, _don’t give yourself such airs_, “come off the tall
grass,” as the Americans have it.
CHIÉ, _adj._ (popular), tout ----, “as like as two peas.”
CHIE-DANS-L’EAU, _m._ (military), _sailor_.
CHIEN, _m. and adj._ (popular), noyé, _sugar soaked in coffee_.
(Journalists’) Un ---- perdu, _short newspaper paragraph_.
(Schoolboys’) Un ---- de cour, _school usher_, or “bum brusher.”
(Military) Un ---- de compagnie, _a sergeant major_. Un ---- de
régiment, _adjutant_. (Familiar and popular) Le ---- du commissaire,
_police magistrate’s secretary_. The commissaire is a police
functionary and petty magistrate. He examines privately cases brought
before him, sends prisoners for trial, or dismisses them at once,
settles then and there disputes between coachmen and their fares,
sometimes between husbands and wives, makes perquisitions. He possesses
to a certain extent discretionary powers. Avoir du ----, _to possess
dash, go_, “gameness.” Il faut avoir du ---- dans le ventre pour
résister, _one must have wonderful staying powers to resist_. Avoir un
---- pour un homme, _to be infatuated with a man_. Faire le ----, _is
said of a servant who follows with a basket in the wake of her mistress
going to market_. Rester en ---- de faience, _to remain immovable,
like a block_. Se regarder en ---- de faience, _to look at one another
without uttering a word_. Piquer un ----, _to take a nap_. Dormir en
---- de fusil, _to sleep with the body doubled up_. Une coiffure à la
----, _mode of wearing the hair loose on the forehead_. (Military) Un
officier ----, _a martinet_.
CHIENDENT, _m._, arracher le ----. See ARRACHER.
CHIER (popular), _coarse word_; ---- dans la vanette, _to be too free
and easy_; ---- de petites crottes, _to earn little money_; _to live
in poverty_; ---- des carottes, _to be costive_; ---- des chasses,
_to weep_, “to nap a bib;” ---- du poivre, _to fail in keeping one’s
promise_; _to abscond_; _to vanish when one’s services or help are most
needed_; ---- sur l’œil, _to laugh at one_; ---- sur, _to show great
contempt for_; _to abandon_. Ne pas ---- de grosses crottes, _to have
had a bad dinner, or no dinner at all_. Vous me faites ----, _you bore
me_. Un gueuleton à ---- partout, _a grand feast_. Une mine à ----
dessus, _a repulsive countenance_. (Printers’) Chier dans le cassetin
aux apostrophes, _to cease to be a printer_.
CHIEUR, _m._ (popular), d’encre, _clerk_, or “quill-driver.”
CHIFFARDE, _f._ (thieves’), _summons_; _pipe_.
CHIFFE, _f._ (popular), _rag-picking_; _tongue_, “red rag.”
CHIFFERLINDE, _f._ (popular), boire une ----, _to drink a dram of
spirits_.
CHIFFERTON, _m._ (popular), _rag-picker_, “bone-grubber,” or
“tot-picker.”
CHIFFON, _m._ (popular), _handkerchief_, “snottinger;” ---- rouge,
_tongue_, “red rag.” Balancer le ---- rouge, _to talk_, “to wag the red
rag.”
CHIFFONNAGE, _m._ (popular), _plunder of a rag-picker_.
CHIFFONNIER, _m._ (thieves’), _pickpocket who devotes his attention to
handkerchiefs_, “stook-hauler;” _man of disorderly habits_. (Literary).
Chiffonnier de la double colline, _bad poet_.
CHIFFORNION, _m._ (popular), _silk handkerchief, or silk_ “wipe.”
CHIFFORTIN, _m._ (popular), _rag-picker_, “bone-grubber,” or
“tot-picker.”
CHIGNARD, _m._ (popular), _inveterate grumbler_, “rusty guts.”
CHIGNER (popular), _to weep_, “to nap a bib.”
CHIMIQUE, _f._ (popular), _lucifer match_.
CHINAGE. See CHINE. Vol au ----, _selling plated trinkets for the
genuine article_.
CHINCILLA (popular), _grey_, or “pepper and salt” _hair_.
CHINE. Aller à la ----, _to ply the trade of_ chineur (which see).
CHINER (military), _to slander one_; _to ridicule one_; (popular) _to
work_; _to go in quest of good bargains_; _to buy furniture at sales
and resell it_; _to follow the pursuit of an old clothes man_; _to
hawk_; _to go about the country buying heads of hair from peasant
girls_.
CHINEUR, or MARGOULIN, _m._ (thieves’), _one who goes about the
country buying heads of hair of peasant girls_. (Military) Chineur,
_slanderer_; (popular) _rabbit-skin man_; _marine store dealer_;
_worker_; _hawker of cheap stuffs or silk handkerchiefs_.
En argot, chineur signifie travailleur, et vient du
verbe chiner.... Mais ce mot se spécialise pour désigner
particulièrement une race de travailleurs _sui generis_....
Elle campe en deux tribus à Paris. L’une habite le pâté de
maisons qui se hérisse entre la place Maubert et le petit
bras de la Seine, et notamment rue des Anglais. L’autre
niche en haut de Ménilmontant, et a donné autrefois son nom
à la rue de la Chine....
Les chineurs sont, d’ailleurs, des colons et non
des Parisiens de naissance. Chaque génération vient
ici chercher fortune, et s’en retourne ensuite au
pays.--=RICHEPIN=, _Le Pavé_.
CHINOIS, _m._ (popular), _an individual_, a “bloke,” a “cove;”
_proprietor of coffee-house_; (familiar) _term of friendship_;
(military) _term of contempt applied to civilians_, hence probably the
expression “pékin,” _civilian_.
CHINOISERIE, _f._ (familiar), _quaint joke_; _intricate and quaint
procedure or contrivance_.
CHIPE, _f._ (popular), _prigging_. From chiper, _to purloin_.
CHIPETTE, _f._ (popular), _trifle_; _nothing_; _Lesbian woman, that is,
one with unnatural passions_.
CHIPIE, _f._ (familiar). Literally _girl or woman with a testy temper_,
a “brim.” Faire sa ----, _to put on an air of supreme disdain or
disgust_.
CHIPOTEUSE, _f._ (popular), _capricious woman_.
CHIQUANDAR. See CHICARD.
CHIQUE. See CHIC.
CHIQUE, _f._ Properly _quid of tobacco_. (Popular) Avoir sa ----, _to
be in a bad humour_, “to be crusty,” or “cranky.” Avoir une ----, _to
be drunk_, or “screwed.” See POMPETTE. Ça te coupe la ----, _that’s
disappointing for you, that_ “cuts you up.” Coller sa ----, _to bend
one’s head_. Couper la ---- à quinze pas, _to stink_. Poser sa ----,
_to die_; _to be still_. Pose ta ---- et fais le mort! _be still!_
_shut up!_ _hold your row!_ (Thieves’) Chique, _church_.
CHIQUÉ (artists’), _smartly executed_. Also _said of artistic work done
quickly without previously studying nature_. (Popular) Bien ----, _well
dressed_.
CHIQUEMENT, _with_ chic (which see).
CHIQUER (familiar), _to do anything in a superior manner_; _to do
artistic work with more brilliancy than accuracy_; (popular) _to
thrash_, “to wallop,” see VOIE; _to eat_, “to grub,” see MASTIQUER. Se
----, _to fight_, “to drop into one another.”
CHIQUER CONTRE or BATTRE À NIORT (thieves’), _to deny one’s guilt_.
CHIQUEUR, _m._ (popular), _glutton_, “stodger;” (artists’) _an artist
who paints with smartness, or one who draws or paints without studying
nature_.
CHIRURGIEN, _m._ (popular), en vieux, _cobbler_.
CHNIC. See CHENIQUE.
CHOCAILLON, _m._ (popular), _female rag-picker_; _female drunkard_, or
“lushington.”
CHOCNOSO, CHOCNOSOF, CHOCNOSOGUE, KOSCNOFF, _excellent_, _remarkable_,
_brilliant_, “crushing,” “nobby,” “tip-top,” “fizzing.”
CHOCOTTE, _f._ (rag-pickers’), _marrow bone_; (thieves’) _tooth_.
CHOLÉRA, _m._ (popular), _zinc or zinc-worker_; _bad meat_.
CHOLET, _m._ (popular), _white bread of superior quality_.
CHOLETTE, _f._ (thieves’), _half a litre_. Double ----, _a litre_.
CHOPER (popular), _to steal_, “to prig.” See GRINCHIR. Old word choper,
_to touch anything_, _to make it fall_. Se laisser ----, _to allow
oneself to be caught_, _to be_ “nabbed.”
CHOPIN, _m._ (thieves’), _theft_; _stolen object_; _blow_. Faire un
----, _to commit a theft_.
CHOSE, _adj._ (familiar and popular), _ill at ease_; _sad_;
_embarrassed_. Il prit un air ----, _he looked sad or embarrassed_. Je
me sens tout ----, _I feel ill at ease_; _queer_.
CHOU! (thieves’ and cads’), _a warning cry to intimate that the police
or people are coming up_. Termed also “Acresto!”
CHOUCARDE, _f._ (military), _wheelbarrow_.
CHOUCHOUTER (familiar), _to fondle_, “to firkytoodle;” _to spoil one_.
From chouchou, _darling_.
CHOU COLOSSAL, _m._ (familiar), _a scheme for swindling the public by
fabulous accounts of future profits_.
CHOUCROUTE, _f._ (popular), tête or mangeur de ----, _a German_.
CHOUCROUTER (popular), _to eat sauerkraut_; _to speak German_.
CHOUCROUTEUR, CHOUCROUTMANN, _m._, _German_.
CHOUETTE, CHOUETTARD, CHOUETTAUD, _adj._, _good_; _fine_; _perfect_,
“chummy,” “real jam,” “true marmalade.” C’est rien ----, _that’s
first-class!_ Quel ---- temps, _what splendid weather!_ Un ----
régiment, _a crack regiment_. (Disparagingly) Nous sommes ----, _we
are in a fine pickle_.
CHOUETTE, _f. and adj._ (thieves’), être ----, _to be caught_. Faire
une ----, _to play at billiards against two other players_.
CHOUETTEMENT (popular), _finely_; _perfectly_.
CHOUEZ (Breton), _house_; ---- doue, _church_.
CHOUFFLIC (popular), _bad workman_. In the German schuflick, _cobbler_.
CHOUFFLIQUER (popular), _to work in a clumsy manner_.
CHOUFFLIQUEUR, _m._ (popular), _bad workman_; (military) _shoemaker_,
“snob.”
CHOUFRETEZ (Breton), _lucifer matches_.
CHOUIA (military), _gently_. From the Arabic.
CHOUIL (Breton), _work_; _insect_.
CHOUILA (Breton cant), _to work_; _to beget many children_.
CHOUISTA (Breton), _to work with a will_.
CHOUMAQUE (popular), _shoemaker_. From the German.
CHOURIN, for SURIN (thieves’), _knife_, “chive.”
Si j’ai pas l’rond, mon surin bouge.
Moi, c’est dans le sang qu’ j’aurais truqué.
Mais quand on fait suer, pomaqué!
Mieux vaut bouffer du blanc qu’ du rouge.
=RICHEPIN=, _Chanson des Gueux_.
CHOURINER, for SURINER (thieves’), _to knife_, “to chive.”
CHOURINEUR, _m._, for SURINEUR (thieves’), _one who uses the knife_;
_knacker_. “Le Chourineur” is one of the characters of Eugène Sue’s
_Mystères de Paris_.
C’HOUSA (Breton), _to eat_.
C’HOUSACH (Breton), _food_.
CHRÉTIEN, _adj._ (popular), _mixed with water_, “baptized.”
CHRÉTIEN, _m._ (popular), viande de ----, _human flesh_.
CHRYSALIDE, _f._ (popular), _old coquette_.
CHTIBES, _f. pl._ (popular), _boots_, “hock-dockies.”
CHYBRE, _m._ (popular), see FLAGEOLET; (artists’) _member of the
Institut de France_.
CHYLE, _m._ (familiar), se refaire le ----, _to have a good meal_, a
“tightener.”
CIBICHE, _f._ (popular), _cigarette_.
CIBLE, _f._ (popular), à coups de pieds, _breech_. See VASISTAS.
CIBOULE, _f._ (popular), _head_, or “block.” See TRONCHE.
CIDRE ÉLÉGANT, _m._ (familiar), _champagne_, “fiz,” or “boy.”
CIEL, _m._ (fishermens’), le ---- plumant ses poules, _clouds_.
Les nuages, c’était le ciel plumant ses poules,
Et la foudre en éclats, Michel cassant ses œufs.
Il appelait le vent du sud cornemuseux,
Celui du nord cornard, de l’ouest brise à grenouille,
Celui de suroit l’brouf, celui de terre andouille.
=RICHEPIN=, _La Mer_.
CIERGE, _m._ (thieves’), _police officer_, or “reeler.” For synonyms
see POT-À-TABAC.
CIG, _m._, CIGALE, or SIGUE, _f._ (thieves’), _gold coin_, or “yellow
boy.”
CIGALE, _f._ (popular), _female street singer_. Properly _grasshopper_;
also _cigar_.
CIGOGNE, _f._ (thieves’), _the “Préfecture de Police” in Paris_; _the
Palais de Justice_; _court of justice_. Le dab de la ----, _the public
prosecutor_; _the prefect of police_.
Je monte à la cigogne.
On me gerbe à la grotte,
Au tap, et pour douze ans.
=VIDOCQ.=
CIGUE, _f._ (thieves’), abbreviation of cigale, _twenty-franc piece_.
CIMAISE (painters’), faire sa ---- sur quelqu’un, _to show up one’s own
good qualities, whether real or imaginary, at the expense of another’s
failings_, in other words, _to preach for one’s own chapel_.
CIMENT, _m._ (freemasons’), _mustard_.
CINGLER (thieves’), se ---- le blair, _to get drunk_, or “canon.”
CINQ-À-SEPT, _m._, _a kind of tea party from five o’clock to seven in
the fashionable world_.
CINQ-CENTIMADAS, _m._ (ironical), _one-sou cigar_.
CINTIÈME, _m._ (popular), _high cap generally worn by women’s bullies_,
or “pensioners.”
CINTRER (popular), _to hold_; (thieves’) ---- en pogne, _to seize hold
of_; _to apprehend_, or “to smug.” See PIPER.
CIPAL, _m._ (popular), abbreviation of garde-municipal. The “garde
municipale” is a picked body of old soldiers who furnish guards and
perform police functions at theatres, official ceremonies, police
courts, &c. It consists of infantry and cavalry, and is in the pay
of the Paris municipal authorities, most of the men having been
non-commissioned officers in the army.
CIRAGE, _m._ (popular), _praise_, “soft sawder,” “butter.”
CIRE, _f._, voleur à la ----, _rogue who steals a silver fork or spoon
at a restaurant, and makes it adhere under the table by means of a
piece of soft wax_. When charged with the theft, he puts on an air of
injured innocence, and asks to be searched; then leaves with ample
apologies from the master of the restaurant. Soon after a confederate
enters, taking his friend’s former seat at the table, and pocketing the
booty.
CIRÉ, _m._ (popular), _negro_. From cirer, _to black shoes_. Termed
also “boîte à cirage, bamboula, boule de neige, bille de pot au feu.”
CIRER (popular), _to praise_; _to flatter_, “to butter.”
CIREUX, _m._ (popular), _one with inflamed eyelids_.
CISEAUX, _m. pl._ (literary), travailler à coups de ----, _to compile_.
CITÉ, _f._ (popular), d’amour, _gay girl_, “bed-fagot.”
Je l’ai traitée comme elle le méritait. Je l’ai
appelée feignante, cité d’amour, chenille, machine à
plaisir.--=MACÉ.=
CITRON, _m._ (theatrical), _squeaky note_; (thieves’ and cads’) _the
head_, “nut,” or “chump.” Termed also “tronche, sorbonne, poire,
cafetière, trognon, citrouille.”
CITROUILLE, _f._, CITROUILLARD, _m._ (military), _dragoon_; (thieves’)
_head_, “nut,” or “tibby.”
CIVADE, _f._ (thieves’), _oats_.
CIVARD, _m._ (popular), _pasture_.
CIVE, _f._ (popular), _grass_.
CLAIRS, _m. pl._ (thieves’), _eyes_, or “glaziers.” See MIRETTES.
Souffler ses ----, _to sleep_, to “doss,” or to have a “dose of the
balmy.”
CLAIRTÉ, _f._ (popular), _light_; _beauty_.
CLAMPINER (popular), _to idle about_; _to lounge about lazily_, “to
mike.”
CLAPOTER (popular), _to eat_, “to grub.” See MASTIQUER.
CLAQUÉ, _m. and adj._ (popular), _dead_, _dead man_. La boîte aux
claqués, _the Morgue, or Paris dead-house_. Le jardin des claqués, _the
cemetery_.
CLAQUEBOSSE, _m._ (popular), _house of ill-fame_, or “nanny-shop.”
CLAQUEDENTS, _m._ (popular), _house of ill-fame_, “nanny-shop;”
_gaming-house_, or “punting-shop;” _low eating-house_.
CLAQUEFAIM, _m._ (popular), _starving man_.
CLAQUEPATINS, _m._ (popular), _miserable slipshod person_.
Venez à moi, claquepatins,
Loqueteux, joueurs de musette,
Clampins, loupeurs, voyous, catins.
=RICHEPIN.=
The early French poet Villon uses the word “cliquepatin” with the same
signification.
CLAQUER (familiar), _to die_, “to croak;” _to eat_; _to sell_; ---- ses
meubles, _to sell one’s furniture_; ---- du bec, _to be very hungry
without any means of satisfying one’s craving for food_.
CLAQUES, _f. pl._ (familiar and popular), une figure à ----, _face with
an impudent expression that invites punishment_.
CLARINETTE, _f._ (military), de cinq pieds, _musket, formerly_ “Brown
Bess.”
CLASSE, _f._ (popular), un ---- dirigeant, _said ironically of one of
the upper classes_.
CLAVIN, _m._ (thieves’), _nail_; _grapes_.
CLAVINE, _f._ (thieves’), _vine_.
CLAVINER (thieves’), _to nail_; _to gather grapes_.
CLAVINEUR, _m._ (thieves’), _vine-dresser_.
CLAVINIER, _m._ (thieves’), _nail-maker_.
CLEF, _f._ (familiar), à la ----. See A LA. Perdre sa ----, _to suffer
from colic_, or “botts.” (Military) La ---- du champ de manœuvre,
_imaginary object which recruits are requested by practical jokers to
go and ask of the sergeant_.
CLIABEAU, _m._, expression used by the prisoners of Saint-Lazare,
_doctor_.
CLICHE, _f._ (popular), _diarrhœa_, or “jerry-go-nimble.”
CLICHÉ, _m._ (familiar), _commonplace sentence ready made_;
_commonplace metaphor_; _well-worn platitude_. (Printers’) Tirer son
----, _to be always repeating the same thing_.
CLIENT, _m._ (thieves’), _victim, or intended victim_.
CLIGNER (military), des œillets, _to squint_, _to be_ “boss-eyed.”
CLIGNOTS, _m. pl._ (popular), _eyes_, “peepers.” Baver des ----, _to
weep_, “to nap a bib.” See MIRETTES.
CLIPET, _m._ (thieves’), _voice_.
CLIQUE, _f._ (popular), _scamp_, or “bad egg;” _diarrhœa_, or
“jerry-go-nimble.” (Military) La ----, _the squad of drummers and
buglers_.
Exempts de service, ils exercent généralement une
profession quelconque (barbier, tailleur, ajusteur de
guêtres, etc.) qui leur rapporte quelques bénéfices. Ayant
ainsi plus de temps et plus d’argent à dépenser que leurs
camarades, ils ont une réputation, assez bien justifiée
d’ailleurs, de bambocheurs; de là, ce nom de clique qu’on
leur donne.--_La Langue Verte du Troupier._
CLIQUETTES, _f. pl._ (popular), _ears_, or “wattles.”
CLODOCHE, _m._ (familiar), _description of professional comic dancer
with extraordinarily supple legs, such as the Girards brothers, of
Alhambra celebrity_.
CLOPORTE, _m._ (familiar), _door-keeper_. Properly _woodlouse_. A pun
on the words clôt porte.
CLOU, _m._ (military), _guard-room_; _cells_, “jigger;” _bayonet_.
Coller au ----, _to imprison_, “to roost.” (Popular) Clou, _bad
workman_; _pawnshop_. Mettre au ----, _to pawn_, _to put_ “in lug.”
Clou de girofle, _decayed black tooth_. (Theatrical and literary) Le
---- d’une pièce, d’un roman, _the chief point of interest in a play or
novel_, literally _a nail on which the whole fabric hangs_.
CLOUER (popular), _to imprison_, “to run in;” _to pawn_, “to blue, to
spout, to lumber.”
CLOUS, _m. pl._ (popular), _tools_. (Printers’) Petits ----, _type_.
Lever les petits ----, _to compose_. (Military) Clous, _foot-soldiers_,
or “mud-crushers.”
COAGULER (familiar), se ----, _to get drunk_. See SCULPTER.
CÔBIER, _m._, _heap of salt in salt-marshes_.
COCANGES, _f. pl._ (thieves’), _walnut-shells_. Jeu de ----, _game of
swindlers at fairs_.
COCANGEUR, _m._ (thieves’), _swindler_. See COCANGES.
COCANTIN, _m._ (popular), _business agent acting as a medium between a
debtor and a creditor_.
COCARDE, _f._ (popular), _head_. Avoir sa ----, _to be tipsy_. Taper
sur la ----, _is said of wine which gets into the head_.
Ma joie et surtout l’petit bleu
Ça m’a tapé sur la cocarde!
_Parisian Song._
COCARDER (popular), se ----, _to get tipsy_. See SCULPTER.
Tout se passait très gentiment, on était gai, il ne fallait
pas maintenant se cocarder cochonnement, si l’on voulait
respecter les dames.--=ZOLA=, _L’Assommoir_.
COCARDIER, _m._ (military), _military man passionately fond of his
profession_.
COCASSERIE, _f._ (familiar), _strange or grotesque saying, writing, or
deed_.
COCHE, _f._ (popular), _fat, red-faced woman_.
COCHON, _m._ (popular), de bonheur! (ironical) _no luck!_ Ça n’est pas
trop ----, _that’s not so bad_. C’est pas ---- du tout, _that’s very
nice_. Mon pauvre ----, je ne te dis que ça! _my poor fellow, you are
in for it!_ Etre ----, _to be lewd_. Se conduire comme un ----, _to
behave in a mean, despicable way_. Soigner son ----, _is said of one
who lives too well_. Un costume ----, _a suggestive dress_.
COCHONNE, _f._ (popular), _lewd girl_. (Ironically) Elle n’est pas
jolie, mais elle est si cochonne!
COCHONNEMENT, _adv._ (popular), _in a disgusting manner_.
COCHONNERIE, _f._ (popular), _any article of food having pork for a
basis_.
COCHONNERIES, _f. pl._ (popular), _indecent talk or actions_.
COCO, _m._ (military), _horse_. La botte à ----, _trumpet call for
stables_, (literally) La botte de foin à coco. (Popular) Coco,
_brandy_; _head_. See TRONCHE. Avoir le ---- déplumé, _to be bald, or
to have a_ “bladder of lard.” For synonymous expressions, see AVOIR.
Avoir le ---- fêlé, _to be cracked_, “to be a little bit balmy in
one’s crumpet.” For synonyms see AVOIR. Colle-toi ça dans le ----, or
passe-toi ça par le ----, _eat that or drink that_. Dévisser le ----,
_to strangle_. Monter le ----, _to excite_. Se monter le ----, _to
get excited_; _to be too sanguine_. Il a graissé la patte à ----,
_is said of a man who has bungled over some affair_. (Familiar) Coco
épileptique, _champagne wine_, “fiz,” or “boy.”
COCODÈTE, _f._ (familiar), _stylish woman always dressed according to
the latest fashion_, a “dasher.”
COCONS, _m. pl._, stands for co-conscrits, _first-term students at the
Ecole Polytechnique_.
COCOTTE, _f._ (popular), _term of endearment to horses_. Allons,
hue ----! _pull up, my beauty!_ (Familiar and popular) Cocotte, _a
more than fast girl or woman_, a “pretty horse-breaker,” see GADOUE;
(theatrical) _addition made by singers to an original theme_.
COCOTTERIE, _f._ (familiar), _the world of the cocottes_. See COCOTTE.
COCOVIEILLES, _f. pl._, _name given by fashionable young ladies of the
aristocracy to their old-fashioned elders, who return the compliment by
dubbing them_ “cocosottes.”
COCUFIEUR, _m._ (popular), _one who cuckoos, that is, one who lays
himself open to being called to account by an injured husband as the
co-respondent in the divorce court_.
COENNE, or COUENNE, _f._ (thieves’), de lard, _brush_. (Familiar and
popular) Couenne, _stupid man_, _dunce_.
COËRE, _m._ (thieves’), le grand ----, _formerly the king of rogues_.
CŒUR, _m._ (popular), jeter du ---- sur le carreau, _to vomit_. A pun
on the words “hearts” and “diamonds” of cards on the one hand, avoir
mal au ----, _to feel sick_, and “carreau,” _flooring_, on the other.
Valet de ----, _lover_.
CŒUR D’ARTICHAUT, _m._ (popular), _man or woman with an inflammable
heart_.
Paillasson, quoi! cœur d’artichaut,
C’est mon genre; un’ feuille pour tout l’monde,
Au jour d’aujourd’hui j’gobe la blonde;
Après d’main, c’est la brun’ qu’i m’faut.
=GILL=, _La Muse à Bibi_.
COFFIER (thieves’), abbreviation of escoffier, _to kill_, “to cook
one’s gruel.”
COFFIN, _m._, _peculiar kind of desk at the Ecole Polytechnique_. From
the inventor’s name, General Coffinières.
COGNAC, _m._ (thieves’), _gendarme or police officer_, “crusher,”
“copper,” or “reeler.” See POT-À-TABAC.
COGNADE, _f._, or COGNE (thieves’), _gendarmerie_.
COGNARD, _m._, or COGNE, _gendarme and gendarmerie_; _police officer_,
“copper.”
COGNE, _m. and f._ (thieves’), la ----, _the police_. Un ----, _a
police officer_, or “reeler.” See POT-À-TABAC. Also _brandy_. Un noir
de trois ronds sans ----, _a three-halfpenny cup of coffee without
brandy_.
COIFFER (popular), _to slap_; _to deceive one’s husband_. Se ---- de
quelqu’un, _to take a fancy to one_.
COIN, _m._ (popular), c’est un ---- sans i, _he is a fool_.
COIRE (thieves’), _farm_; _chief_.
Je rencontrai des camarades qui avaient aussi fait leur
temps ou cassé leur ficelle. Leur coire me proposa
d’être des leurs, on faisait la grande soulasse sur le
trimar.--=V. HUGO.=
COL, _m._ (familiar), cassé, _dandy_, or “masher.” Se pousser du ----,
_to assume an air of self-importance or conceit_, “to look gumptious;”
_to praise oneself up_. An allusion to the motion of one’s hand under
the chin when about to make an important statement.
COLAS, COLABRE, or COLIN, _m._ (thieves’), _neck_, or “scrag.” Faire
suer le ----, _to strangle_. Rafraîchir le ----, _to guillotine_.
Rafraîchir means _to trim_ in the expression, “Rafraîchir les cheveux.”
COLBACK, _m._ (military), _raw recruit_, or “Johnny raw.” An allusion
to his unkempt hair, similar to a busby or bearskin cap.
COLIN. See COLAS.
COLLABO, _m._ (literary), abbreviation of collaborateur.
COLLAGE, _m._ (familiar), _living as husband and wife in an unmarried
state_.
L’une après l’autre--en camarade--
C’est rupin, mais l’ collage, bon Dieu!
Toujours la mêm’ chauffeus’ de pieu!
M’en parlez pas! Ça m’rend malade.
=GILL=, _La Muse à Bibi_.
Un ---- d’argent, _the action of a woman who lives with a man as his
wife from mercenary motives_.
C’était selon la manie de ce corrupteur de mineures,
le sceau avec lequel il cimentait ce que Madame
Cornette appelait, en terme du métier, ses collages
d’argent!--_Mémoires de Monsieur Claude._
COLLANT, _m._ (familiar), _is said of one not easily got rid of_;
(military) _drawers_.
COLLARDE, _m._ (thieves’), _prisoner_, _one_ “doing time.”
COLLE, _f._ (students’), _weekly or other periodical oral examinations
to prepare for a final examination, or to make up the marks which pass
one at the end of the year_.
COLLÈGE, _m._ (thieves’), _prison_, or “stir.” See MOTTE. Un ami de
----, _a prison chum_. Les collèges de Pantin, _the Paris prisons_.
COLLÉGIEN, _m._ (thieves’), _prisoner_.
COLLER (students’), _to stop one’s leave_; _to orally examine at
periodical examinations_. Se faire ----, _to get plucked or_ “ploughed”
_at an examination_. (Popular) Coller, _to place_; _to put_; _to
give_; _to throw_; ---- au bloc, _to imprison_, “to run in;” ---- des
châtaignes, _to thrash_, “to wallop.” See VOIE. Se ---- dans le pieu,
_to go to bed_. Se ---- une biture, _to get drunk_, or “screwed.” See
SCULPTER. Colle-toi là, _place yourself there_. Colle-toi ça dans le
fusil, _eat or drink that_. Colle-toi ça dans la coloquinte, _bear
that in mind_. (Military) Coller au bloc, _to send to the guard-room_.
Collez-moi ce clampin-là au bloc, _take that lazy bones to the
guard-room_. (Familiar and popular) Se ----, _to live as man and wife,
to live_ “a tally.” Se faire ----, _to be nonplussed_. S’en ---- par
le bec, _to eat to excess_, “to scorf.” S’en ---- pour, _to go to the
expense of_. Je m’en suis collé pour dix francs, _I spent ten francs
over it_.
COLLETINER (thieves’), _to collar_, _to apprehend_, “to smug.” See
PIPER.
COLLEUR, _m._ (students’), _professor whose functions are to
orally examine at certain periods students at private or public
establishments; man who gets quickly intimate_ or “thick” _with one,
who_ “cottons on to one.”
COLLIER, or COULANT, _m._ (thieves’), _cravat_, or “neckinger.”
COLLIGNON, _m._ (popular), _cabby_. An allusion to a coachman of that
name who murdered his fare. The cry, “Ohé, Collignon!” is about the
worst insult one can offer a Paris coachman, and he is not slow to
resent it.
COLOMBE, _f._ (players’), _queen of cards_.
COLOMBÉ, _adj._ (thieves’), _known_.
COLON, _m._ (soldiers’), _colonel_. Petit ----, _lieutenant-colonel_.
COLONNE, _f._ (military), chapeau en ----, see BATAILLE. (Popular)
N’avoir pas chié la ----, _to be devoid of any talent_, _not to be able
to set the Thames on fire_. Démolir la ----, _to void urine_, “to lag.”
COLOQUINTE, _f._ (popular and thieves’), _head_. Avoir une araignée
dans la ----, _to be cracked_, or “to have a bee in one’s bonnet.”
Charlot va jouer à la boule avec ta ----, _Jack Ketch will play
skittles with your canister_.
COLTIGER (thieves’), _to arrest_; _to seize_, to “smug.”
C’est dans la rue du Mail
Où j’ai été coltigé
Par trois coquins de railles.
=V. HUGO=, _Le Dernier Jour d’un Condamné_.
COLTIN, _m._ (popular), _strength_. Properly _shoulder-strap_.
COLTINER (popular), _to ply the trade of a porter_; _to draw a
hand-cart by means of a shoulder-strap_.
COLTINEUR, _m._ (popular), _man who draws a hand-cart with a
shoulder-strap_.
COLTINEUSE (popular), _female who does rough work_.
COMBERGE, COMBERGEANTE, _f._ (thieves’), _confession_.
COMBERGER (thieves’), _to reckon up_; _to confess_.
COMBERGO (thieves’), _confessional_.
COMBLANCE, _f._ (thieves’), par ----, _into the bargain_.
J’ai fait par comblance
Gironde larguecapé.
=VIDOCQ.=
COMBLE, COMBRE, COMBRIAU, COMBRIEU, _m._ (thieves’), _hat_, “tile.” See
TUBARD.
COMBRIE, _f._ (thieves’), _one-franc piece_.
COMBRIER, _m._ (thieves’), _hat-maker_.
COMBRIEU. See COMBLE.
COMBROUSIER, _m._ (thieves’), _peasant_, or “clod.”
COMBUSTIBLE, _m._ (popular), du ----! _exclamation used to urge one on,
On! go it!_
COME, _m._ (thieves’), _formerly a guard on board the galleys_.
COMÉDIE, _f._ (popular), envoyer à la ----, _to dismiss a workman for
want of work to give him_. Etre à la ----, _to be out of work_, “out of
collar.”
COMESTAUX, _m. pl._ (popular), for comestibles, _articles of food_,
“toke.”
COMÈTE, _f._ (popular), _vagrant_, _tramp_. Filer la ----, or la
sorgue, _to sleep in the open air_, or “to skipper it.”
COMIQUES, _m. pl._ (theatrical), jouer les ---- habillés, _to represent
a comic character in modern costume_.
COMMANDER (thieves’), à cuire, _to send to the scaffold_.
COMMANDITE, _f._ (printers’), _association of workmen who join together
for the performance of any work_.
COMME IF (popular), ironical for comme il faut, _genteel._ T’as rien
l’air ----! _What a swell you look, oh crikey!_
COMMISSAIRE, _m._ (popular), _pint or pitcher of wine_. An allusion to
the black robe which police magistrates wore formerly. Le cabot du
----, _the police magistrate’s secretary_. See CHIEN.
COMMODE, _f._ (thieves’), _chimney_. (Popular) Une ---- à deux
ressorts, _a vehicle_, or “trap.”
COMMUNARD or COMMUNEUX, _m._, _one of the insurgents of 1871_.
COMMUNIQUÉ, _m._ (familiar), _official communication to newspapers_.
COMP. See CAN.
COMPAS, _m._ (popular), ouvrir le ----, _to walk_. Allonger le ----,
_to walk briskly_. Fermer le ----, _to stop walking_.
COMPLET, _adj._ (popular), être ----, _to be quite drunk_, or “slewed.”
(Familiar) Etre ----, _to be perfectly ridiculous_.
COMPRENDRE (thieves’), la ----, _to steal_, “to claim.” See GRINCHIR.
COMPTE (popular), avoir son ----, _to be tipsy_, or “screwed;” _to
die_, “to snuff it.” Son ---- est bon, _he is in for it_.
COMPTER (musicians’), des payses, _to sleep_; (popular) ---- ses
chemises, _to vomit_, “to cast up accounts.”
COMTE, _m._ (thieves’), de caruche, or de canton, _jailor_, or “jigger
dubber;” ---- de castu, _hospital superintendent_; ---- de gigot-fin,
_one who likes to live well_.
COMTOIS, _adj._ (thieves’), battre ----, _to dissemble_; _to play the
fool_.
CONASSE, or CONNASSE, _f._ (prostitutes’), _a stupid or modest woman_.
Elles vantent leur savoir-faire, elles reprochent
à leurs camarades leur impéritie,
et leur donnent le nom de conasse, expression
par laquelle elles désignent ordinairement
une femme honnête.--=PARENT-DUCHATELET=,
_De la Prostitution_.
CONDÉ, _m._ (thieves’), _mayor_; demi ----, _alderman_; grand ----,
_prefect_; ---- franc, _corrupt magistrate_.
CONDICE, _f._ (thieves’), _cage in which convicts are confined on their
passage to the convict settlements_.
CONDITION, _f._ (thieves’), _house_, “diggings,” or “hangs out.” Faire
une ----, _to break into a house_, “to crack a crib.” Filer une ----,
_to watch a house in view of an intended burglary_. (Popular) Acheter
une ----, _to lead a new mode of life_, _to turn over a new leaf_.
CONDUITE, _f._ (popular), faire la ----, _to drive away and thrash_.
Faire la ---- de Grenoble, _to put one out of doors_.
CONE, _f._ (thieves’), _death_.
CONFIRMER (popular), _to box one’s ears_, “to warm the wax of one’s
ears.”
CONFITURE, _f._ (popular), _excrement_.
CONFITURIER, _m._ (popular), _scavenger_, “rake-kennel.”
CONFORTABLE, _m._ (popular), _glass of beer_.
CONFRÈRE, _m._ (popular), de la lune, _injured husband_.
CONI, _adj._ (thieves’), _dead_.
CONILLER (popular), _to seek to escape_. Conil, _rabbit_.
CONIR (thieves’), _to conceal_; _to kill_; “to cook one’s gruel.” See
REFROIDIR.
CONNAIS (popular), je la ----, _no news for me_; _do you see any green
in my eye?_ _you don’t take an old bird with chaff_.
CONNAISSANCE, _f._ (popular), ma ----, _my mistress_, _or sweetheart_,
_my_ “young woman.”
CONNAÎTRE (popular), le journal, _to be well informed_; _to know
beforehand the menu of a dinner_; ---- le numéro, _to possess
experience_; ---- le numéro de quelqu’un, _to be acquainted with one’s
secrets, one’s habits_. La ---- dans les coins, _to be knowing_, _to
know what’s o’clock_. An allusion to a horse clever at turning the
corners in the riding school.
Regardez-le partir, le gavroche qui la
connaît dans les coins.--=RICHEPIN.=
CONNERIE, _f._ (popular), _foolish action or thing_. From an obscene
word which has the slang signification of _fool_.
CONOBLER (thieves’), _to recognize_.
CONOBRER (thieves’), _to know_.
CONSCIENCE, _f._ (printers’), homme de ----, _typographer paid by the
day or by the hour_.
CONSCRAR, CONSCRIT, _m._, _first-term student at the “Ecole Normale,” a
higher training-school for university professors_.
CONSERVATOIRE, _m._ (popular), _pawnshop_. Elève du ---- de la
Villette, _wretched singer_. La Villette is the reverse of a
fashionable quarter.
CONSERVES, _f._ (theatrical), _old plays_. Also _fragments of human
flesh which have been thrown into the sewers or river by murderers, and
which, when found, are taken to the “Morgue,” or Paris dead-house_.
Je viens de préparer pour lui les conserves
(les morceaux de chair humaine),
l’os de l’égout Jacob et la cuisse des Saints-Pères
(l’os retrouvé dans l’égout de la Rue
Jacob et la cuisse repêchée au pont des
Saints-Pères).--=MACÉ=, _Mon Premier
Crime_.
CONSIGNE, _f._ (military), à gros grains, _imprisonment in the cells_.
CONSOLATION, _f._ (popular), _brandy_; _swindling game played by
card-sharpers, by means of a green cloth chalked into small numbered
spaces, and dice_.
CONSOLE, _f._ (thieves’), _game played by card-sharpers or_ “broadsmen”
_at races and fairs_.
CONSOLER (popular), son café, _to add brandy to one’s coffee_.
CONTER (military). Conte cela au perruquier des Zouaves, _I do not
believe you_, “tell that to the Marines.” Le perruquier des Zouaves is
an imaginary individual.
CONTRE, _m._ (popular), _playing for drink at a café_.
CONTRE-ALLUMEUR, _m._ (thieves’), _spy employed by thieves to baffle
the police spies_.
CONTREBASSE, _f._ (popular), _breech_. Sauter sur la ----, _to kick
one’s behind_, “to toe one’s bum,” “to root,” or “to land a kick.”
CONTRE-COUP, _m._ (popular), de la boîte, _foreman_, or “boss.”
CONTREFICHER (popular), s’en ----, _to care not a straw, not a_ “hang.”
CONTRE-MARQUE, _f._ (popular), du Père-Lachaise, _St. Helena medal_.
Those who wear the medal are old, and le Père-Lachaise is a cemetery in
Paris.
CONTRÔLE, _m._ (thieves’), _formerly the mark on the shoulder of
convicts who had been branded_.
CONTRÔLER (popular), _to kick one in the face_.
CONVALESCENCE, _f._ (thieves’), _surveillance of the police on the
movements of ticket-of-leave men_.
COP, _f._ (printers’), for “copie,” _manuscript_.
COPAILLE, _f._ (cads’), _Sodomist_. Termed also “tante, coquine.”
COPE, _f._ (popular), _overcharge for an article_; _action of_ “shaving
a customer.” The _Slang Dictionary_ says that in England, when the
master sees an opportunity of doing this, he strokes his chin as a
signal to his assistant who is serving the customer.
COPEAU, _m._ (popular), _artisan in woodwork_ (properly copeaux,
_shavings_); _spittle_, or “gob.” Arracher son ----. See ARRACHER.
Lever son ----, _to talk_, “to jaw.”
COPEAUX, _m. pl._ (thieves’), _housebreaking_, “screwing or cracking a
crib.” An allusion to the splinters resulting from breaking a door.
COPIE, _f._ (printers’), de chapelle, _copy of a work given as a
present to the typographers_. (Figuratively) Faire de la ----, _to
backbite_. Pisser de la ----, _to be a prolific writer_. Pisseur de
----, _a prolific writer_; _one who writes lengthy, diffuse newspaper
articles_.
COQUAGE, _m._ (thieves’), _informing against one_, or “blowing the
gaff.”
COQUARD, _m._ (thieves’), _eye_, or “glazier.” S’en tamponner le ----,
_not to care a fig_. See MIRETTE.
COQUARDEAU, _m._ (popular), _henpecked husband_, or “stangey;” _man
easily duped_, or “gulpy.”
COQUER (thieves’), _to watch one’s movements_; _to inform against one_,
“to blow the gaff.”
Quand on en aura refroidi quatre ou
cinq dans les préaux les autres tourneront
leur langue deux fois avant de coquer la
pègre.--=E. SUE.=
Also _to give_; _to put_; ---- la camoufle, _to hand the candle_, “to
dub the glim;” ---- la loffitude, _to give absolution_; ---- le poivre,
_to poison_, “hocus;” ---- le taf, _to frighten_; ---- le rifle, _to
set fire to_.
COQUEUR, _m._ (thieves’), _informer who warns the police of intended
thefts_. He may be at liberty or in prison; in the latter case he
goes by the appellation of “coqueur mouton” or “musicien.” The
“mouton” variety is an inmate of a prison and informs against his
fellow-prisoners; the “musicien” betrays his accomplices. Coqueur de
bille, _man who furnishes funds_.
COQUEUSE, _female variety of the_ “coqueur.”
COQUILLARD (popular), _eye_. S’en tamponner le ----, _not to care a
straw_, “not to care a hang.”
COQUILLARDS, _m. pl._ (tramps’), _tramps who in olden times pretended
to be pilgrims_.
Coquillards sont les pélerins de Saint-Jacques,
la plus grande partie sont véritables
et en viennent; mais il y en a aussi
qui truchent sur le coquillard.--_Le Jargon
de l’Argot._
COQUILLON, _m._ (popular), _louse_; _pilgrim_.
COQUIN, _m._ (thieves’), _informer_, “nark,” or “nose.”
COQUINE, _f._ (cads’), _Sodomist_.
CORBEAU, _m._ (popular), _lay brother of_ “la doctrine chrétienne,”
_usually styled_ “frères ignorantins.” The brotherhood had formerly
charge of the ragged schools, and were conspicuous by their gross
ignorance; _priest_, or “devil dodger;” _undertaker’s man_.
CORBEILLE, _f._ (familiar), _enclosure or ring at the Bourse where
official stockbrokers transact business_.
CORBILLARD, _m._ (popular), à deux roues, _dismal man_, or “croaker;”
---- à nœuds, _dirty and dissolute woman_, or “draggle-tail;” ---- des
loucherbem, _cart which collects tainted meat at butcher’s stalls_.
Loucherbem is equivalent to boucher.
Voici passer au galop le corbillard des
loucherbem, l’immonde voiture qui vient
ramasser dans les boucheries la viande
gâtée.--=RICHEPIN=, _Le Pavé_.
CORBUCHE, _f._ (thieves’), _ulcer_; ---- lophe, _false ulcer_.
CORDE, _f._ (literary), avoir la ----, _to find true expression for
accurately describing sentiments or passions_. (Popular) Dormir à la
----, _is said of poor people who sleep in certain lodgings with their
heads on an outstretched rope as a pillow_. This corresponds to the
English “twopenny rope.”
CORDER (popular), _to agree_, _to get on_ “swimmingly” _together_.
CORDON, _m._ (popular), s’il vous plaît! or donnez-vous la peine
d’entrer! _large knot worn in the rear of ladies’ dresses_.
CORDONNIER, _m._ (popular), bec-figue de ----, _goose_.
CORNAGE, _m._ (thieves’), _bad smell_.
CORNANT, _m._, CORNANTE, _f._ (thieves’ and tramps’), _ox and cow_, or
“mooer.”
CORNARD, _m._ (students’), faire ----, _to hold a council in a corner_.
CORNE, _f._ (popular), _stomach_.
CORNEMUSEUX, _m._ (codfishers’), _the south wind_.
CORNER (thieves’), _to breathe heavily_; _to stink_. La crie corne,
_the meat smells_.
CORNET, _m._ (popular), _throat_, “gutter-lane.” Colle-toi ça dans
l’----, _swallow that!_ N’avoir rien dans le ----, _to be fasting_, “to
be bandied,” “to cry cupboard.” Cornet d’épices, _Capuchin_.
Il se voulut convertir; il bia trouver un
chenâtre cornet d’épice, et rouscailla à
sézière qu’il voulait quitter la religion prétendue
pour attrimer la catholique.--_Le
Jargon de l’Argot._
CORNICHE, _f._ (popular), _hat_, or “tile,” see TUBARD; (students’)
_the military school of Saint-Cyr_.
CORNICHERIE, _f._ (popular), _nonsense_; _foolish action_.
CORNICHON, _m._ (students’), _candidate preparing for the Ecole
Militaire de Saint-Cyr_. Literally _greenhorn_.
CORNIÈRE, _f._ (thieves’), _cow-shed_.
CORNIFICETUR, _m._ (popular), _injured husband_.
CORPS DE POMPE, _m._, _staff of the Saint-Cyr school, and that of the
school of cavalry of Saumur_. Saint-Cyr is the French Sandhurst. Saumur
is a training-school where the best riders and most vicious horses in
the French army are sent.
CORRECTEUR, _m._ (thieves’), _prisoner who plays the spy_, or “nark.”
CORRESPONDANCE, _f._ (popular), _a snack taken at a wine-shop while
waiting for an omnibus “correspondance.”_
CORRIDOR, _m._ (familiar), _throat_. Se rincer le ----, _to drink_, “to
wet one’s whistle.” See RINCER.
CORSÉ, _adj._ (common), properly _is said of wine with full body_. Un
repas ----, _a plentiful meal_, or a “tightener.”
CORSERIE, _f._ (familiar), _a set of Corsican detectives in the service
of Napoleon III_. According to Monsieur Claude, formerly head of the
detective force under the Empire, the chief members of this secret
bodyguard were Alessandri and Griscelli. Claude mentions in his memoirs
the murder of a detective who had formed a plot for the assassination
of Napoleon in a mysterious house at Auteuil, where the emperor met
his mistresses, and to which he often used to repair disguised as a
lacquey, and riding behind his own carriage. Griscelli stabbed his
fellow-detective in the back on mere suspicion, and found on the body
of the dead man papers which gave evidence of the plot. In reference to
the mysterious house, Monsieur Claude says:--
L’empereur s’enflamma si bien pour cette
nouvelle Ninon que l’impératrice en prit
ombrage. La duchesse alors .... loua
ma petite maison d’Auteuil que le général
Fleury avait choisie pour servir de rendez-vous
clandestin aux amours de son maître.--_Mémoires
de Monsieur Claude._