ENVOYER (general), à la balançoire, à loustaud, à l’ours, dinguer, à
Chaillot, _to send to the deuce_, see CHAILLOT; ---- en paradis, _to
kill_, “to give one his gruel;” ---- quelqu’un aux pelotes, _to send
one to the deuce_. (Thieves’) Envoyer quelqu’un à Niort, _to say no to
one, to refuse_; ---- en parade, _to kill_. (Popular and thieves’) Se
l’----, _to eat_, “to grub.” See MASTIQUER.
EPAIS, _m._ (players’), _five and six of dominoes_.
EPARGNER (thieves’), n’---- le poitou, _to be careful_.
N’épargnons le poitou,
Poissons avec adresse,
Messières et gonzesses,
Sans faire de regoût.
=VIDOCQ.=
EPATAGE, _m._ (popular). See EPATEMENT.
EPATAMMENT (popular), _wonderfully_, “stunningly.”
EPATANT, ÉPATAROUFLANT, _adj._ (general), _wonderful_; _wondrous_,
“stunning,” “crushing.”
EPATE, _f._ (general), faire de l’----, _to show off_.
EPATEMENT, _m._ (general), _astonishment_.
EPATER, ÉPATAROUFLER (general), quelqu’un, _to astound one, to make him
wonder at something or other_.
EPATEUR, _m._, ÉPATEUSE, _f._ (general), _one who shows off_; _one who
tries to astound people by showing off_.
EPAULE, _f._ (general), changer son fusil d’----, _to alter one’s
opinion; to change one’s mind_.
EPÉE, _f._ (popular), de Savoyard, _fisticuffs_.
EPICÉ, _adj._ (general), _at an exaggerated price_. C’est diablement
----, _it is a long price_.
EPICEMAR, _m._ (familiar), _grocer_.
EPICÉPHALE, _m._ (students’), _hat_. See TUBARD.
EPICER (popular), _to scoff at_; _to deride_.
EPICERIE, _f._ (artists’), _the world of Philistines_, “non digni
intrare.”
EPICE-VINETTE, _m._ (thieves’), _grocer_.
EPICIER, M. (familiar), _man devoid of any artistic taste_; _mean,
vulgar man_; termed also “commerçant;” (students’) _one who does not
take up classics at college_.
EPILER (popular), se faire ---- la pêche, _to get shaved_.
EPINARDS (artists’), plat d’----, _painting where tones of crude green
predominate_. (Popular) Aller aux ----, _to receive money from a
prostitute_.
EPINGLE, _f._ (popular), avoir une ---- à son col, _to have a glass of
wine waiting ready poured out for one at a neighbouring wine-shop, and
paid for by a friend_.
EPIPLOON, _m._ (students’), _necktie_.
EPITONNER (thieves’), s’----, _to grieve_.
EPOINTER (popular), son foret, _to die_, “to kick the bucket,” or “to
snuff it.” See CASSER SA PIPE.
EPONGE, _f._ (general), _paramour_; _drunkard_, or “lushington;” ----
à sottises, _gullible man_, “gulpin;” ---- d’or, _attorney_, or “green
bag.” An allusion to the long bills of lawyers.
EPOUFFER (thieves’), _to pounce on one_.
EPOUSE, _f._ (familiar), édition belge, _mistress_, or “tartlet.”
EPOUSER (thieves’), la camarde, _to die_, “to croak;” ---- la
fourcandière, or la fauconnière, _to throw away stolen property when
pursued_; ---- la veuve, _to be executed_.
EPROUVÉ, _m._ (thieves’), _well-behaved convict who, after having_
“done half his time,” _is recommended for a ticket-of-leave_.
EQUERRE, _f._ (popular), fendre son ----, _to run away_, “to make
tracks.” See PATATROT.
ERAILLER (thieves’), _to kill one_, “to cook his goose.” See REFROIDIR.
EREINTEMENT, _m._ (familiar), _sharp, unfriendly criticism_.
EREINTER (familiar), _to run down a literary work or a literary man_;
_to hiss an actor_, “to give the big bird.”
EREINTEUR, _m._ (familiar), _scurrilous or sharp critic_.
ERÉNÉ (popular), _exhausted_, _spent_, _done up_, “gruelled.”
ERGOT, _m._ (popular), se fendre l’----, _to run away_, “to make
tracks.” See PATATROT.
ERLEQUIN (Breton), _frying-pan for frying pancakes_.
ERNEST, _m._ (journalists’), _official communication from official
quarters to the press_.
ERREUR, _f._ Y a pas d’----! _a Parisian expression used in support of
an assertion_.
Y a pas d’erreur, va; j’suis un homme,
Un chouett’, un zig, un rigolo.
=GILL.=
ERVOANIK PLOUILIO (Breton), _death_.
ES, _m._ (popular), for escroc, _swindler_, or “shark.”
ESBALLONNER (popular), _to slip away_, “to mizzle.” See PATATROT.
ESBIGNER (popular), s’----, _to slip away_, “to mizzle.” See PATATROT.
ESBLINDER (popular), _to astound_.
ESBLOQUANT, _adj._ (popular), _astounding_.
ESBLOQUER (popular), _to astound_. S’----, _to feel astonished_. Ne
vous esbloquez donc pas comme ça, _do not be so astonished_, _keep
cool_.
ESBROUF (thieves’), d’----, _all at once_; _violently_; _by surprise_.
D’esbrouf je l’estourbis.--=VIDOCQ.= (_I suddenly knocked
him over the head._)
ESBROUFE, ESBROUFFE, coup à l’----. See A L’ESBROUFFE.
ESBROUFFEUR, _m._ (thieves’), _thief who practises the kind of theft
called_ “VOL À L’ESBROUFFE” (which see).
ESBROUFFEUSE, _f._, _flash girl who makes much fuss_.
ESCAFF, _m._ (popular), _kick in the breech_.
ESCAFFER (popular), _to give a kick in the breech_, “to root,” or “to
land a kick.”
ESCANNE, _f._ (thieves’), à l’----, _away! and the devil take the
hindmost_.
ESCANNER (thieves’), _to run away_, or “to make beef.” See PATATROT.
ESCARCHER (thieves’), _to look on_, “to pipe.”
ESCARE, _f._ (thieves’), _impediment_; _obstacle_; _disappointment_.
ESCARER (thieves’), _to prevent_.
ESCAREUR (thieves’), _one who prevents_.
ESCARGOT, _m._ (popular), _slow, dull man_, or “stick in the mud;”
_vagrant_; ---- de trottoir, _police officer_, or “crusher.” See
POT-À-TABAC. (Military) Escargot, _man with his tent when campaigning_.
ESCARPE, _m._ (thieves’), _thief and murderer_; ---- zézigue, _suicide_.
ESCARPER (thieves’), _to kill_. See REFROIDIR. Escarper un zigue à la
capahut, _to kill a thief in order to rob him of his booty_.
ESCARPIN, _m._ (popular), de Limousin, or en cuir de brouette, _wooden
shoe_; ---- renifleur, _leaky shoe_.
ESCARPINER (popular), s’----, _to escape nimbly_; _to give the slip_.
ESCARPOLETTE, _f._ (theatrical), _practical joke_; _an addition made to
a part_.
ESCAVER (thieves’). See ESCARER.
ESCLOT, _m._ (popular), _wooden shoe_.
ESCOUADE, _f._ (military), envoyer chercher le parapluie de l’----, _to
get rid of a person whose presence is not desired by sending him on a
fool’s errand_.
ESCOUTES, or ÉCOUTES, _f. pl._ (thieves’), _ears_, or “hearing cheats.”
ESCRIME, _m._ (military), _clerk_, “quill-driver.”
ESGANACER (thieves’), _to laugh_.
ESGARD, or ÉGARD, _m._ (thieves’), faire l’----, _to rob an accomplice
of his share of the plunder_. The author of this kind of robbery goes
among his English brethren by the name of “Poll thief.”
ESGOUR, _adj._ (thieves’), _lost_.
ESGOURDE, ESGOUVERNE, ESGOURNE, _f._ (thieves’), _ear_, or “hearing
cheat.” Débrider l’----, _to listen_.
ESPAGNOL, _m._ (popular), _louse_.
ESPALIER, _m._ (theatrical), _a number of female supernumeraries drawn
up in line_.
ESPÈCE, _f._ (familiar), _woman of questionable character_.
ESPRIT, _m._ (familiar), des braves, _brandy_.
ESQUE, _m._ See ESGARD.
ESQUINTE, _m._ (thieves’), _abyss_. Vol à l’----, _burglary_, “panny,”
“screwing,” or “busting.”
ESQUINTEMENT, _m._ (general), _excessive fatigue_; (thieves’)
_burglary_, or “busting.”
ESQUINTER (familiar), _to damage_; _to fatigue_; (popular) _to thrash_;
see VOIE; (thieves’) _to kill_; see REFROIDIR; _to break_. La carouble
s’est esquintée dans la serrante, _the key has been broken in the
lock_. (Familiar) S’----, or s’---- le tempérament, _to tire oneself
out_.
ESQUINTEUR (thieves’), _housebreaker_, “panny-man,” “screwsman,” or
“buster.”
ESSAYER (theatrical), le tremplin, _to act in an unimportant play,
which is given as a preliminary to a more important one_; _to be the
first to sing at a concert_. (Soldiers’) Envoyer ---- une chemise de
sapin, _to kill_.
ESSENCE, _f._ (general), de parapluie, _water_.
ESSES (popular), faire des ----, _to reel about_.
ESSUYER (familiar), les plâtres, _to kiss the face of a female whose
cheeks are painted_.
ESSUYEUSE, _f._ (familiar), de plâtres, _street-walker_. See GADOUE.
ESTABLE, _f._ (thieves’), _fowl_, “beaker.”
ESTAFFIER, _m._ (familiar), _police officer_; (thieves’) _cat_.
ESTAFFIN, _m._ (popular), _cat_.
ESTAFFION, _m._ (popular), _blow on the head_, “bang on the nut;”
(thieves’) _cat_, “long-tailed beggar.”
ESTAFILER (military), la frimousse, _to cut one’s face with a sword_.
ESTAFON, _m._ (old cant), _capon_.
ESTAMPILLER (thieves’), _to mark_; _to show_ (in reference to the
hour). Luysard estampillait six plombes, _it was six o’clock by the
sun_.
ESTAPHE, _f._ (popular), _slap_.
ESTAPHLE, _f._ (thieves’), _fowl_, “beaker,” or “cackling cheat.”
ESTIME (familiar), succès d’----, _a doubtful success_.
ESTIO, ESTOC, _m._ (thieves’), _intellect_, _wit_. Il a de l’----, _he
is clever_, or “wide.”
ESTOMAC, _m._ (general), _courage_, _pluck_, “wool.”
ESTOMAQUÉ, _adj._ (popular), _astounded_, “flabbergasted.”
ESTORGUE, ESTOQUE, _f._ (thieves’), _falsehood_. Chasses à l’----,
_squinting eyes_.
ESTOURBIR (thieves’), _to stun_; _to kill_.
ESTOURBISSEUR, _m._ (popular), de clous de girofle, _dentist_.
ESTRADE, _f._ (thieves’), _boulevard_.
Le filant sur l’estrade
D’esbrouf je l’estourbis.
=VIDOCQ.=
ESTRANGOUILLADE, _f._ (popular), _the act of strangling or garrotting a
man_.
ESTRANGOUILLER (popular), _to strangle_; ---- un litre, _to drink a
litre of wine_.
ESTROPIER (popular), _to eat_, “to grub.” Properly _to maim_.
ESTUQUE, _m._ (thieves’), _share of booty_, or “regulars.”
ESTUQUER (popular), _to thrash_, “to wallop.”
ETAGÈRE, _f._ (general), _female assistant at restaurants who has the
charge of the fruit, &c._; _bosom_.
ETAL, _m._ (popular), _bosom_.
ETALAGE, _m._ (general), vol à l’----, _shoplifting_.
ETALER (familiar), sa marchandise, _to wear a very low dress, thus
showing what ought to remain covered_.
ETAMÉ, _adj._ (thieves’), _old offender_. Boule de son ----, _white
bread_.
ETANCHE, _f._ (popular), avoir le goulot en ----, _to be thirsty, or
dry_.
ETEIGNOIR, _m._ (general), _large nose, or large_ “conk;” _dull
person_. Ordre de l’----, _the order of Jesuits_. (Thieves’) Eteignoir,
_préfecture de police, palais de justice, or law courts_.
ETEINDRE (popular), son gaz, _to die_, “to snuff it.”
ETERNUER (popular), sur une négresse, _to drink a bottle of wine_;
(thieves’) ---- dans le sac, or dans le son, _to be guillotined_.
Pauvre petit Théodore ... il est bien gentil. C’est dommage
d’éternuer dans le son à son âge.--=BALZAC.=
ETIER, _m._, _a kind of trench dug by the salt-marsh workers_.
ET LE POUCE, ET MÈCHE (popular), _and the rest!_ Cette dame a quarante
ans. Oui, et le pouce! _This lady is forty years of age. Yes, and the
rest!_
ETOFFES, _f. pl._ (thieves’), _money_, “pieces.”
ETOUFFAGE, _m._ (thieves’), _theft_, or “push;” (popular), _concealment
of money on one’s person_; _stealing part of the stakes by a player or
looker-on_.
ETOUFFE, _m._ (thieves’), _clandestine gaming-house_.
ETOUFFER (popular), _to secrete money about one’s person_; ---- un
enfant de chœur, une négresse, _to drink a bottle of wine_; ---- un
perroquet, _to drink a glass of absinthe_.
ETOUFFOIR, _m._ See ETOUFFE.
ETOURDIR (popular), _to solicit_; _to entreat_. Properly _to make
giddy_.
ETOURDISSEMENT, _m._ (popular), _soliciting a service_.
ETOURDISSEUR, _m._ (popular), _one who solicits, who asks for a
service_.
ETRANGÈRE, _f._ (familiar), piquer l’----, _to allow one’s thoughts to
wander from a subject_, “to be wool gathering.” Noble ----, _silver
five-franc piece_.
ETRANGLER (familiar), un perroquet, _to drink a glass of absinthe_;
---- une dette, _to pay off a debt_.
ETRE (gay girls’), à la campagne, _to be confined at the prison of
Saint-Lazare_ (a prison for women, mostly street-walkers). (Popular)
Etre à la cascade, _to be joyous_; ---- à l’enterrement, _to feel
dull_; ---- à la manque, _to deceive_; _to betray_; ---- à la paille,
_to be half dead_; ---- à l’ombre, _to be dead_; _to be in prison_;
---- à pot et à feu avec quelqu’un, _to be on intimate terms with one_;
---- argenté, _to have funds_; ---- au sac, _to have plenty of money_;
---- bien, _to be tipsy_, or “to be hoodman;” ---- bref, _to be short
of cash_; ---- complet, see COMPLET; ---- crotté, _to be penniless_;
(familiar and popular) ---- dans le troisième dessous, see DESSOUS;
---- dans les papiers de quelqu’un, _to be in one’s confidence_; ----
dans les vignes, or dans la vigne du Seigneur, _to be drunk_; ---- dans
ses petits souliers, _to be ill at ease_; ---- de la bonne, _to be
lucky_; ---- de la fête, _to be happy, lucky_; ---- de la haute, _to
belong to the aristocracy_; _to be a swell_; ---- de la paroisse de la
nigauderie, _to be simple-minded_; ---- de la paroisse de Saint-Jean le
Rond, _to be drunk_, or “screwed;” ---- de la procession, _to belong
to a trade or profession_; ---- de l’F, see F; ---- démâté, _to be
old_; ---- dessous, _to be drunk_; ---- du bâtiment, _to belong to a
profession mentioned_; ---- d’un bon suif, _to be ridiculous or badly
dressed_, _to be a_ “guy;” ---- du 14ᵉ bénédictins, _to be a fool_;
---- en train, _to be getting tipsy_, see SCULPTER; ---- exproprié, _to
die_, see CASSER SA PIPE; ---- fort au batonnet, see BATONNET; ----
le bœuf, see BŒUF; ---- paf, _to be drunk_, see POMPETTE; ---- près
de ses pièces, _to be hard up for cash_; (sailors’) ---- pris dans la
balancine, _to be in a fix, in a_ “hole;” ---- vent dessus or vent
dedans, _to be drunk_, see POMPETTE; (thieves’) ---- sur la planche,
_to be had up before the magistrate_; ---- bien portant, _to be at
large_; ---- dans la purée, ---- fauché, ---- molle, _to be penniless_;
(bullies’) ---- sur le sable, _to be without means of existence,
that is, without a mistress_. (Familiar) En ----, _to be a spy or
detective_; _to be a Sodomist_.
ETRENNER (general), _to receive a thrashing_, “to get a drubbing.” See
VOIE.
ETRIERS, _m. pl._ (cavalry), avoir les ---- trop courts _is said of a
man with bandy legs_.
ETRILLAGE, _m._ (popular), _loss of money_.
ETRILLER (general), _to fleece_, “to shave.”
ETROITE, _f._ (popular), faire l’----, _to be affected_, or “high
falutin;” _to play the prude_.
ETRON DE MOUCHE, _m._ (thieves’), _wax_, conveniently used for taking
the impress of keyholes.
ETRUSQUE, _adj._ (familiar), _old-fashioned_.
ET TA SŒUR (popular), _expression of refusal, disbelief, or a
contemptuous reply to insulting words_.
Une fille s’était empoignée avec son amant, à la porte d’un
bastringue, l’appelant sale mufe et cochon malade, tandis
que l’amant répétait, “et ta sœur?” sans trouver autre
chose.--=ZOLA.=
ETUDIANT DE LA GRÈVE, _m._ (popular), _mason_.
ETUDIANTE, _f._ (familiar), _student’s mistress_, _his_ “tartlet.”
ETUI, _m._ (popular), _skin_, or “buff;” ---- à lorgnette, _coffin_.
(Soldiers’) Etuis de mains courantes, _boots_.
EVANOUIR (popular), s’----, _to make off_, or “to bunk;” _to die_. See
PIPE.
EVANOUISSEMENT, _m._ (popular), _flight_.
EVAPORER (popular), _to steal adroitly_. S’----, _to vanish_, “to
mizzle.”
EVENTAIL À BOURRIQUE, _m._ (popular), _stick_, or “toco.”
EVENTRER UNE NÉGRESSE (popular), _to drink a bottle of wine_.
EVÊQUE DE CAMPAGNE, _m._ (popular), _a hanged person_. From the
expression, Bénir des pieds, _to be hanged_, and properly _to bless
with one’s feet_.
EVER GOAD HE VUGALE (Breton), _drunkard_. Literally _drinker of his
children’s blood_.
EXBALANCER (thieves’), _to send one away; to dismiss him_.
EXCELLENT BON, _m._ (familiar), _young dandy_.
EXÉCUTER (familiar), s’----, _to comply with a request_; _to fulfil
one’s promise_; _to pay unwillingly rather than otherwise_.
EXHIBER (cads’), _to look at_, “to pipe.” Nib de flanche, on t’exhibe,
_stop your game, they are looking at you_. Exhiber son prussien, _to
run away_.
EXHUMÉ, _m._ (familiar), _swell_, “masher.” An allusion to the
cadaverous appearance of most French “mashers.” See GOMMEUX.
EXPLIQUER (military and popular), s’----, _to fight a duel_; _to fight_.
Sauf el’ bandeau
Qu’a s’coll’ chaqu’ fois su’ l’coin d’la hure,
Après qu’ nous nous somm’s expliqués,
C’est pas qu’ j’aim’ y taper dans l’nez;
J’haï ça; c’est cont’ ma nature.
=GILL=, _La Muse à Bibi_.
EXTRA, _m._ (popular), _good dinner_; _guest at a military mess_.
EXTRAIT DE GARNI, _m._ (popular), _dirty servant_; _slattern_.
EXTRAVAGANT, _m._ (popular), _glass of beer of unusual size_, “galopin”
being the appellation for a small one. The latter term is quite recent
as used with the above signification. According to the _Dict. Comique_
it meant formerly _a small measure for wine_:--
Galopin, c’est une petite mesure de vin, ce qu’on appelle à
Paris un demi-setier.--=LE ROUX.=
F
F, être de l’---- (popular), that is, être fichu, flambé, foutu,
fricassé, frit, fumé, _to be lost, ruined_, “cracked up,” “gone to
smash.”
FABRICANT, _m._ (popular), de culbutes, or de fourreaux, _tailor_,
“rag-stabber.” Je me suis carmé d’une bath pelure chez le ---- de
culbutes, _I have bought a fine coat at the tailor’s_.
FABRICATION, _f._ (thieves’), passer à la ----, or être fabriqué, _to
be apprehended_. Faire passer à la ----, _to apprehend_.
FABRIQUER (thieves’), _to apprehend_, “to smug;” _to steal_, “to
claim;” ---- un gas à la flan, à la rencontre, or à la dure, _to rob
from the person with violence_, “to jump;” ---- un poivrot, _to rob a
drunkard_.
FAÇADE, _f._ (popular), _head_, or “nut;” _face_, or “mug.” (Cocottes’)
Se faire la ----, _to paint one’s face_, in other words, “to stick
slap” _on one’s face_.
FACE, _f._ (popular and thieves’), _a sou_.
Je ne donnerais pas une face de ta sorbonne si l’on tenait
l’argent.--=BALZAC.=
Face du Grand Turc, _the behind_.
FACE! _an exclamation used when a smash of glass or crockery is heard_,
the word being the French rendering for the exclamation “heads!” at
pitch and toss.
FACILE À LA DÉTENTE (popular), _is said of one who readily settles a
debt, or opens the strings of his purse_.
FACTIONNAIRE, _m._ (popular), poser un ----, _to ease oneself_. Relever
un ----, _to slip out of a workshop in order to go and drink a glass of
wine kept ready by a comrade at a neighbouring wine-shop_.
FACTURIER, _m._ (theatrical), _one whose spécialité is to produce songs
termed_ “couplets de facture,” _for the stage or music halls_.
FADAGE, _m._ (thieves’), _the act of sharing the plunder_, or “cutting
it up.”
FADARD, _adj. and m._ (popular), _dandy_, or “gorger.” For synonyms see
GOMMEUX.
FADE, _m._ (popular), _a fop or empty swell_, a “dundreary;” _one’s
share in the reckoning_, or “shot;” _a workman’s wages_. Toucher son
----, _to receive one’s wages_. (Thieves’) Fade, _a rogue’s share in
the proceeds of a robbery_, or “whack;” _money_, or “pieces.”
Puisque je ne l’ai plus, elle, pas plus que je n’ai du
fade, Charlot peut aiguiser son couperet, je ne regrette
plus ma tête.--_Mémoires de Monsieur Claude._
FADÉ, _adj._ (popular), _drunk_, or “screwed.” See POMPETTE. Etre
bien ----, _to be quite drunk_, or “scammered;” _to have received a
good share_; _to be well treated by fate_. Is used also ironically or
sorrowfully: Me voilà bien ----! _a bad job for me! Here I am in a
fine plight!_ (Thieves’) Etre ----, _to have received one’s share of
ill-gotten gains_; _to have had one’s_ “whack.”
FADER (thieves’), _to divide the booty among the participators in a
robbery_, “to nap the regulars,” or “to cut up.”
FADEURS, _f. pl._ (popular), des ----! _nonsense!_ “all my eye!”
Concerning this English rendering the supplementary _English Glossary_
says: “All my eye, _nonsense, untrue_. Sometimes ‘All my eye and Betty
Martin.’ The explanation that it was the beginning of a prayer, ‘O
mihi beate Martine,’ will not hold water. Dr. Butler, when headmaster
of Shrewsbury, ... told his boys that it arose from a gipsy woman in
Shrewsbury named Betty Martin giving a black eye to a constable, who
was chaffed by the boys accordingly. The expression must have been
common in 1837, as Dickens gives one of the Brick Lane Temperance
testimonials as from ‘Betty Martin, widow, one child, and one
eye.’--_Pickwick_, ch. xxxiii.”
FAFELARD, _m._ (thieves’), _passport_; _bank note_, or “soft;” ---- à
la manque, _forged note_, or “queer soft;” ---- d’emballage, _warrant
of arrest_.
FAFFE, _m._ (thieves’), _paper_; ---- à roulotter, _cigarette paper_;
_bank note_, or “soft.”
FAFIOT, _m._ (popular and thieves’), _document_, or “fakement;” _shoe_,
or “trotter case.” See RIPATON. Fafiot, _bank note_, or “soft.”
Fafiot! n’entendez-vous pas le bruissement du papier de
soie?--=BALZAC.=
Fafiot garaté, _banknote_, or “soft.” An allusion to the signature of
the cashier M. Garat, which notes of the Banque de France formerly
bore.
On invente les billets de banque, le bagne les appelle
des fafiots garatés, du nom de Garat, le caissier qui les
signe.--=BALZAC.=
Un ---- en bas âge, _a one hundred franc note_. Un ---- femelle, _a
five hundred franc note_. Un ---- lof, _a false begging petition;
forged certificate, or false passport_, “fakement.” Un ---- mâle, _a
one thousand franc note_.
Le billet de mille francs est un fafiot mâle, le billet de
cinq cents francs un fafiot femelle.--=BALZAC.=
Un ---- sec, _a genuine certificate or passport_. Fabriquer des
fafiots, or du fafelard à la manque, _to forge bank notes_, “to fake
queer soft.”
FAFIOTEUR, _m._ (thieves’), _paper manufacturer or merchant_; _banker_,
“rag-shop boss;” _writer_; (popular) _cobbler_, or “snob.”
FAFLARD. See FAFELARD.
FAGAUT (thieves’), the word faut disguised. Il ne ---- dégueularder sur
sa fiole, _we must say nothing about him_.
FAGOT, COTTERET, or FALOURDE, _m._ (thieves’), _convict_, probably from
his being tied up like a bundle of sticks. Un ---- à perte de vue, _one
sentenced to penal servitude for life_, or “lifer.” Un ---- affranchi,
_a liberated convict_, or “lag.” Un ---- en campe, _an escaped felon_.
(Familiar) Un ----, _a candidate for the Ecole des Eaux et Forêts, a
government training school for surveyors of State forests and canals_.
FAGOTIN, _m._ (popular), _vagrant_, _tramp_, “abraham-man,” or “piky.”
FAIBLARD, _m._ (popular), _sickly looking, weak person_. Called in
English slang “barber’s cat,” a term used in connection with an
expression too coarse to print, according to the _Slang Dictionary_.
FAIGNANT, _m._ (popular), _coward_. A corruption of fainéant, _idle
fellow_.
FAILLI CHIEN, _m._ (sailors’), _scamp_. Un ---- de terrien, _a lubberly
landsman_.
Le bateau va comme en rivière une gabarre,
Sans personne au compas, et le mousse à la barre,
Il faudrait n’être qu’un failli chien de terrien,
Pour geindre en ce moment et se plaindre de rien.
=RICHEPIN=, _La Mer_.
FAÎNE, _f._ (popular), _a sou_.
FAININ, _m._ (popular), _a centime_.
FAIRE (general), _to steal_, “to prig.” See GRINCHIR.
Non qu’ils déboursent rien pour entrer, car ils font
Leur contre-marque aux gens qui sortent....
=RICHEPIN=, _La Chanson des Gueux_.
Faire son nez, _to look crestfallen_, _to look_ “glum;” ---- son
beurre, _to benefit by_; _to make profits_.
Il m’a assuré que le général de Carpentras avait plus de
quatre millions de rente. Je gagne bien de l’argent, moi,
mais je ferais bien mon beurre avec ça.--=E. MONTEIL.=
(Thieves’) Faire banque, _to kill_, see REFROIDIR; ---- un poivrot, _to
pick the pockets or steal the clothes of a drunken man_, “bug-hunting;”
---- des yeux de hareng, _to put a man’s eyes out_; ---- flotter
un pante, _to drown one_; ---- du ragoût or regoût, _to talk about
another’s actions, and thus to awaken the suspicions of the police_.
Ne fais pas du ragoût sur ton dab! (n’éveille pas
les soupçons sur ton maître!) dit tout bas Jacques
Collin.--=BALZAC.=
Faire la balle élastique, _to go with an empty belly_, “to be bandied.”
Literally _to be as light as an india-rubber ball_; ---- la console,
or consolation, _one of a series of card-sharping games, termed as
follows_, “arranger les pantres,” or “bonneteau,” “un coup de bonnet,”
or “parfaite,” “flambotté aux rotins,” or “anglaise;” ---- la bride,
_to steal watch-guards_, “to buz slangs;” ---- la fuite, la jat jat,
la paire, le patatrot, faire cric, faire vite, _to run away_, “to make
beef, or to guy.” See PATATROT. Faire la grande soulasse sur le trimar,
_to murder on the highway_; ---- la grèce, or plumer le pantre, _to
entice a traveller from a railway station into a café, where he is
robbed of his money at a swindling game of cards_; ---- la retourne
des baguenaudes, _to pick the pockets of a helpless man_, “to fake a
cly;” ---- la souris, _to rob stealthily_, “to nip;” ---- la tire,
_to pick pockets, generally by means of a pair of scissors delicately
inserted, or a double-bladed penknife_, “to fake a cly;” ---- la tire à
la chicane, explained by quotation:--
Ils font la tire à la chicane, en tournant le dos à celui
qu’ils dépouillent.--=DU CAMP.=
Faire la tortue, _to go without any food_; ---- le barbot dans une
cambriolle, _to steal property from a room_, “to do a crib;” ---- le
bobe, _to steal watches_, “toy getting;” ---- l’égard, _to retain
for oneself the proceeds of a robbery_; ---- le gaf, _to watch_,
“to nark, to give a roasting, to nose, to lay, or to dick;” ---- le
lézard, _to decamp_, “to guy,” see PATATROT; ---- le morlingue, _to
steal a purse_, “to buz a skin or poge;” ---- le mouchoir, _to steal
pocket-handkerchiefs_, called “stook hauling, fogle hunting, or drawing
the wipe;” ---- le pantre, _to play the fool_; ---- le rendème or
rendémi, _to swindle a tradesman by picking up again from his counter
a gold coin tendered for payment, and making off with both coin and
change_; ---- nonne _is said of accomplices_, or “jollies,” _who form a
small crowd so as to facilitate a thief’s operations_; ---- la balle à
quelqu’un, _to carry out one’s instructions_.
Fais sa balle! (suis ses instructions), dit
Fil-de-Soie.--=BALZAC=, _La Dernière Incarnation de
Vautrin_.
Faire son temps, _to undergo a full term of imprisonment_; ----
sauter la coupe, _to place, by dexterous manipulation, the cut card
on the top, instead of at the bottom of the pack_, termed by English
card-sharpers “slipping;” ---- suer un chêne, _to kill a man_, “to cook
his goose.” See REFROIDIR. Faire sur l’orgue, _to inform against_,
“to blow the gaff;” ---- un coup à l’esbrouffe, _to pick a person’s
pockets while hustling him_, “to flimp;” ---- un coup d’étal, _to steal
property from a shop_. A shoplifter is termed in English cant “buttock
and file;” ---- un coup de fourchette, _to pick a pocket by delicately
inserting two fingers only_; ---- coup de roulotte, _to steal property
from a vehicle_; ---- un rancart, _to procure information_; ----
une maison entière, _to break into a house and to massacre all the
inmates_; (artists’) ---- chaud, _to use warm tints in a painting,
after the style of Rembrandt and other colourists_; ---- culotte, ----
rôti, _comparative and superlative of_ faire chaud; ---- cru, _to use
crude tints in a picture_, for instance, to use blue or red without any
adjunction of another colour; ---- cuire sa toile, _to employ very
warm tints in the painting of a picture_; ---- transparent, _to paint
in clair obscur, or “chiaro oscuro;”_ ---- lanterne, _to exaggerate
the “chiaro oscuro;”_ ---- grenouillard or croustillant, _to paint
in masterly, bold, dashing style, with_ “brio.” The expression is
used also in reference to the statuary art. The works of the painter
Delacroix and those of the sculptor Préault are executed in that
style; ---- sa cimaise sur quelqu’un. See CIMAISE. Faire un pétard,
_to paint a sensational picture for the Salon_. The _Salomé_ of H.
Regnault, his masterpiece, may be termed a “pétard;” ---- des crêpes,
_to have a grand jollification_, or “flare up;” (freemasons’) ----
feu, _to drink_; (theatrical) ---- feu, _to lay peculiar stress on
words_; (mountebanks’) ---- la manche, _to make a collection of money
among the public_, or “nobbing;” (popular) ---- à la redresse, _to
set one right_, _to correct one_; ---- danser un homme sur une pelle
à feu _is said of a woman who freely spends a man’s money_; (familiar
and popular) ---- brûler Moscou, _to mix a large bowl of punch_; ----
cabriolet, _to drag oneself along on one’s behind_; ---- cascader, see
CASCADER; ---- de cent sous quatre francs, _to squander one’s money_;
---- de la musique, _to make audible remarks about a game which is
proceeding_; ---- de la poussière, _to make a great fuss_, _to show
off_; ---- de l’épate, _to show off_.
Ces jeunes troupiers font de l’épate, des embarras si vous
aimez mieux.--=J. NORIAC.=
Faire du lard, _to sleep_; _to stay in bed late in the morning_; ----
du suif, _to make unlawful profits, such as those procured by trade
assistants who cheat their employers_; ---- faire à quelqu’un blanc
de sa bourse, _to draw freely on another’s purse_, _to live at his
expense_, “to sponge” _on him_; ---- flanelle, _to visit a brothel with
platonic intentions_; ---- godard, _to be starving_; ---- la place pour
les pavés à ressort, _to pretend to be looking for employment with a
secret hope of not finding any_; ---- la retape, or le trottoir, _to
be a street-walker_; ---- l’écureuil, _to give oneself much trouble
to little purpose_; ---- le plongeon, _to confess when on the point
of death_; _to be ruined_, “to be smashed up;” ---- mal, _to excite
contemptuous pity_. Tiens, tu me fais mal! _well, I pity you!_ _I am
sorry for you!_ Faire passer le goût du pain, _to kill_, “to give one
his gruel;” ---- patrouille, _to go on night revels with a number of
boon companions_, “to be on the tiles.”
Quatre jours en patrouille, pour dire en folies
bachiques.--_Cabarets de Paris._
Faire peau neuve, _to get new clothes_; ---- petite chapelle _is
said of a woman who tucks up her clothes_; ---- pieds neufs, _to be
in childbed_, or “in the straw;” ---- pleurer son aveugle, _to void
urine_, “to pump ship.” See LASCAILLER. Faire saluer le polichinelle,
_to be more successful than others_. An allusion to certain games
at fairs, when a successful shy brings out a puppet-head like a
Jack-in-the-box; ---- sa Lucie, or sa Sophie, _to play the prude_,
_to give oneself conceited or disdainful airs_; ---- sa merde, or
sa poire, _to have self-satisfied, conceited airs_; _to take up an
arrogant position_; _assuming an air of superiority_; _to be on the_
“high jinks;” ---- sa tata _is said of a talkative person, or of one
who assumes an air of importance; of a girl, for example, who plays
the little woman_; ---- ses petits paquets, _to be dying_; ---- son
Cambronne, _an euphemism for a coarse expression_, “faire sa merde”
(which see); ---- son lézard, _to be dozing during the daytime_, like
a lizard basking in the sun; ---- un bœuf, _to guillotine_; _to give
cards_; ---- suer, _to annoy_; _to disgust_.
Ainsi, leur politique extérieure, vrai! ça fait suer depuis
quelque temps.--=ZOLA=, _L’Assommoir_.
Faire un tassement, or un trou, _to drink spirits in the course of a
meal for the purpose of getting up a fresh appetite_, synonymous of
“faire le trou du Normand;” ---- une femme, _to succeed in finding a
woman willing to give her favours_; ---- son fendant, _to bluster_; _to
swagger_; _to look big_. Ne fais donc pas ton fendant, “come off the
tall grass!” (an Americanism). Faire une entrée de ballet, _to enter
a room without bowing to the company_. En ---- son beurre, _to put to
good use, to good profit_.
Et, si ton monsieur est bien nippé, démande-lui un vieux
paletot, j’en ferai mon beurre.--=ZOLA=, _L’Assommoir_.
La ---- à quelqu’un, _to deceive_, “to bamboozle” _one_. Faut pas m’la
faire! may be rendered by “I don’t take that in;” “no go;” “not for
Joe;” “do you see any green in my eye?” “Walker!”
Vas-tu t’ taire, vas tu t’ taire,
Celle-là faudrait pas m’la faire,
As-tu fini tes façons?
Celle-là nous la connaissons!
_Parisian Song_.
La ---- à, _to seek to impose upon by an affected show of some feigned
sentiment_. La ---- à la pose, _to show off_; _to pose_.
J’ pense malgré moi à la gueule dégoûtée que f’rait un
décadent, ou un pessimiste au milieu de ce méli-mêlo.... Y
nous la f’rait diantrement à la pose.--=TRUBLOT=, _Cri du
Peuple_, Sept., 1886.
La ---- à la raideur, _to put on a distant manner_, _to look_ “uppish.”
La ---- à l’oseille, _to treat one in an off-hand manner_; _to annoy
one_, or “to huff;” _to play a scurvy trick_; _to exaggerate_, “to come
it too strong.” According to Delvan, the origin of the expression is
the following:--A certain restaurant keeper used to serve up to her
clients a mess of eggs and sorrel, in which the sorrel was out of all
proportion to the quantity of eggs. One day one of the guests exclaimed
in disgust, “Ah! cette fois, tu nous la fais trop à l’oseille!”
(Popular) Se ---- caramboler _is said of a woman who gives her favours_.
Elle sentit très bien, malgré son avachissement, que la
culbute de sa petite, en train de se faire caramboler,
l’enfonçait davantage ... oui, ce chameau dénaturé lui
emportait le dernier morceau de son honnêteté.--=ZOLA=,
_L’Assommoir_.
Se ---- relicher, _to get kissed_.
Ah! bien! qu’elle se laissât surprendre à se faire relicher
dehors, elle était sûre de son affaire.... Dès qu’elle
rentrait, ... il la regardait bien en face, pour deviner
si elle ne rapportait pas une souris sur l’œil, un de ces
petits baisers.--=ZOLA=, _L’Assommoir_.
S’en ---- éclater le péritoine, or péter la sous-ventrière, _to eat or
drink to excess_, “to scorf.” Tu t’en ferais péter la sous-ventrière,
or tu t’en ferais mourir, _expressive of ironical refusal_; _don’t you
wish you may get it?_ or, as the Americans have it, “Yes, in a horn.”
Se ---- baiser, or choper, _to get abused_; _to be apprehended_. See
PIPER. Se ---- la débinette, _to run away_, “to guy,” “to slope.” See
PATATROT. La ---- belle, _to be happy_; _to lead a happy life_. Faire
des petits pains, du plat, or du boniment, _to eulogize_; _to try and
persuade one into complying with one’s wishes_; (military) ---- suisse,
_to drink all by oneself at a café or wine-shop_. The cavalry maintain
that infantry soldiers alone are capable of so hideous an offence;
(printers’) ---- banque blèche, _to get no pay_; (Sodomists’) ---- de
la dentelle, the explanation is furnished by the following quotation:--
Tantôt se plaçant dans une foule, ... ils provoquent les
assistants derrière eux en faisant de la dentelle, c’est
à dire en agitant les doigts croisés derrière leur dos,
ou ceux qui sont devant à l’aide de la poussette, en leur
faisant sentir un corps dur, le plus souvent un long
bouchon qu’ils ont disposé dans leur pantalon, de manière a
simuler ce qu’on devine et à exciter ainsi les sens de ceux
qu’ils jugent capables de céder à leur appel.--=TARDIEU=,
_Etude Médico-légale sur les Attentats aux Mœurs_.
(Card-sharpers’) Faire le Saint-Jean, _to cough and spit as a signal to
confederates_.
L’invitation acceptée, l’amorceur fait le Saint-Jean,
c’est-à-dire qu’atteint d’une toux subite, il se détourne
pour expectorer bruyamment. A ce signal deux complices se
hâtent de se rendre à l’endroit convenu d’avance.
--=PIERRE DELCOURT=, _Paris Voleur_.
Faire le saut de coupe, _by dexterous manipulation to place the cut
card on the top, instead of at the bottom of the pack_, “to slip” _a
card_; ---- la carte large, _to insert a card somewhat larger than the
rest, and easily recognizable for sharpers’ eyes_, this card being
called by English sharpers “old gentleman;” ---- le pont, _cheating
trick at cards, by which any particular card is cut by previously
curving it by the pressure of the hand_, “bridge;” ---- le filage, _to
substitute a card for another_, “to slip” _it_; ---- la carte à l’œil,
_to prepare a card in such a manner that it shall be easily recognized
by the sharper_. English card-sharpers arrange cards into “concaves and
convexes” and “longs and shorts.” By cutting in a peculiar manner, a
“concave” or “convex” is secured at will; (thieves’ and cads’) ---- la
jactance, _to talk_; _to question_, or “cross-kid;” ---- la bourrique,
_to inform against_, “to blow the gaff.” Le curieux lui a fait la
jactance, il a entravé et fait la bourrique, _the judge examined him;
he allowed himself to be outwitted, and peached_. Faire le saut, _to
leave without paying for one’s reckoning_. Se ---- enfiler, _to be
apprehended_, or “smugged.” See PIPER. Se ---- enturer, _to be robbed,
swindled_; _to lose one’s money at a game_, or “to blew it.” La ---- à
l’anguille, _to strike one with an eelskin or handkerchief filled with
sand_.
Ah! gredins, dit-il, vous me l’avez faite à l’anguille....
L’anguille ... est cette arme terrible des rôdeurs de
barrière qui ne fournit aucune pièce de conviction, une
fois qu’on s’en est servi. Elle consiste dans un mouchoir
qu’on roule après l’avoir rempli de terre. En tenant cette
sorte de fronde par un bout, tout le poids de la terre va
à l’autre extrémité et forme une masse redoutable.
--=A. LAURIN=, _Le Million de l’Ouvrière_.
Rabelais has the expression “donner l’anguillade,” with the
signification of _to strike_. (Military schools’) Faire une brimade,
or brimer, _to ill-treat_, _to bully_, termed “to brock” at Winchester
School.
FAIS (popular), j’y ----, _I am willing_; _I consent_.
FAISAN, _m._ See BANDE NOIRE.
FAISANDER (popular), se ----, of persons, _to grow old_, _to become
rickety_, of things, _to be decayed_, _worn out_, “seedy.”
FAISANDERIE, _f._, or BANDE NOIRE, _swindling gang composed of the_
“frères de la côte, or de la flotte,” _denominated respectively_
“grands faisans,” “petits faisans,” “fusilleurs.” See BANDE NOIRE.
FAISEUR D’ŒIL, _m._ (popular), _Lovelace_.
FAISEUSE D’ANGES, _f._ (familiar), _woman who makes a living by
baby-farming, or one who procures a miscarriage by unlawful practices_.
FAITRÉ, _adj._ (thieves’), _lost_; _safe for a conviction_, “booked,”
or “hobbled.”
FALOT, _m._ (military), _military cap_.
FALOURDE, _f._ (thieves’), _a returned transport_, a “lag;” (players’)
_double six of dominoes_; (popular) ---- engourdie, _corpse_, “cold
meat.”
FALZAR, _m._ (popular), _trousers_, “kicks, sit-upons, hams, or
trucks.” Sans ---- autour des guibolles, _without any trousers, or with
trousers in tatters_.
FAMILIÈRES, _f. pl._, _female prisoners employed as assistants at the
prison of Saint-Lazare, and who, in consequence, are allowed more
freedom than their fellow-convicts_.
FANAL, _m._ (popular), _throat_, “gutter lane.” S’éclairer le ----,
_to drink_, or “to wet one’s whistle.” See RINCER. Colle-toi ça dans
l’----, _eat or drink that_. Altérer le ----, _to make one thirsty_.
Ceux-ci insinuent que cette opération a pour but d’altérer
le fanal et de pousser simplement à la consommation.
--=P. MAHALIN.=
FANANDE, _m._ (thieves’), abbreviation of fanandel, _m._, _comrade_, or
“pal.”
V’là les fanand’s qui radinent,
Ohé! tas d’ pochetés.
=J. RICHEPIN.=
FANANDEL, _m._ (thieves’), _comrade_, _friend_, “pal.”
Ce mot de fanandel veut dire à la fois: frères, amis,
camarades. Tous les voleurs, les forçats, les prisonniers
sont fanandels.--=BALZAC.=
FANER (popular). Mon verre se fane, _my glass is empty_. (Thieves’)
Fourche à ----, _horseman_.
FANFARE, _f._ (popular), sale truc pour la ----! exclamation of
disgust, _a bad look-out for us!_
FANFE, _f._ See FAUVE.
FANFOUINER (thieves’), _to take snuff_.
FANFOUINEUR, _m._, FANFOUINEUSE, _f._ (thieves’), _person who is in the
habit of taking snuff_.
FANTABOSSE, or FANTASBOCHE, _m._ (military), _infantry soldier_,
“beetle-crusher,” or “grabby.”
FANTASIA, _f._ (familiar), _noisy proceeding more brilliant than
useful_. An allusion to the fantasia of Arab horsemen. Donner dans
la ----, _to be fond of noisily showing off_. (Popular) Une ----, _a
whim_, or “fad.”
FANTASSIN, _m._ (military), _bolster_.
FAOEN (Breton), _riddle_.
FARAUD, _m._ (thieves’), _gentleman_, “nib cove.”
FARAUDE, _f._ (thieves’), _lady_, or “burerk.”
FARAUDEC, FARAUDETTE, _f._ (thieves’), _young girl_, or “lunan.”
FARCE, _f._ (general), en avoir la ----, _to be able to procure_. Pour
deux sous on en a la ----, _an expenditure of one penny will procure it
for you_. Une ---- de fumiste, _a practical joke_.
Veut-on savoir d’où vient l’origine de cette locution:
une farce de fumiste? Elle provient de la manière
d’opérer d’une bande de voleurs fumistes de profession,
... ils montaient dans les cheminées pour dévaliser les
appartements déserts et en faire sortir les objets les plus
précieux par les toits.--_Mémoires de Monsieur Claude._
FARCEUR, _m._ (artists’), _human skeleton serving as a model at the
Ecole des Beaux Arts, or the Paris Art School_, thus called on
account of its being put to use for practical joking at the expense of
newcomers.
FARCHER (thieves’), for faucher dans le pont, _to fall into a trap; to
allow oneself to be duped, or_ “bested.”
FARD, _m._ (popular), _falsehood_, or “swack up.” Sans ----, _without
humbug_, “all square.” Avoir un coup de ----, _to be slightly
intoxicated_, or “elevated.” See POMPETTE. (Familiar and popular)
Piquer un ----, _to redden_, _to blush_. Fard, properly _rouge_. Termed
“to blow” at Winchester School.
FARDACH (Breton), _worthless people_.
FARDER (popular), se ----, _to get tipsy_, “to get screwed.” For
synonyms see SCULPTER.
FARE, _f._, _heap of salt in salt-marshes_.
FARFADET, _m._ (popular and thieves’), _horse_, or “prad.”
FAR-FAR, FARRE (popular and thieves’), _quickly_, _in a_ “brace of
shakes.”
FARFOUILLER (popular), le ---- dans le tympan, _to whisper in one’s
ear_.
FARGUE, _m._ (thieves’), _load_.
FARGUEMENT, _m._ (thieves’), _loading_; _deposition of a witness for
the prosecution_.
FARGUER (thieves’), _to load_.
Si vous êtes fargués de marchandises grinchies (si vous
êtes chargés de marchandises volées).--=VIDOCQ.=
FARGUER À LA DURE, _to pounce upon a person and rob him_, “to jump”
_him_. Il fagaut farguer à la dure le gonsarès pour lui dégringolarer
son bobinarès, _we must attack the fellow to ease him of his watch_.
FARGUEUR, _m._ (thieves’), _man who loads_; _witness for the
prosecution_.
FARIDOLE, _f._ (prostitutes’), _female companion_.
FARIDON, _f._ (popular), _poverty_. Etre à la ----, _to be penniless_,
or a “quisby.”
FARINEUX, _adj._ (popular), _excellent_, _first class_, “tip top, out
and out, clipping, slap up, real jam, true marmalade, nap.”
FARNANDEL, for FANANDEL (which see).
FARRAGO, _m._ (literary), _manuscript with many alterations and
corrections_.
FASSOLETTE, _f._ (thieves’), _handkerchief_, “stook,” or “madam.”
FATIGUE, _f._ (thieves’), _certain amount of labour which convicts
have to do at the penal servitude settlement_.
FAUBERT, _m._ (marines’), _epaulet_. Properly _a mop_.
FAUBOURG, _m._ (popular), le ---- souffrant, _the Faubourg Saint
Marceau_, one of the poorer districts of Paris. Détruire le ---- à
quelqu’un, _to give one a kick in the breech_, “to root,” “to hoof
one’s bum,” or “to land a kick.”
FAUCHANTS, FAUCHEUX, _m. pl._ (thieves’), _scissors_.
FAUCHÉ, _adj._ (thieves’), être ----, être dans la purée, or
être molle, _to be penniless_, or a “quisby.” Etre ----, _to be
guillotined_. The synonyms are: “être raccourci, être buté, mettre la
tête à la fenêtre, éternuer dans le son, or dans le sac, épouser la
veuve, jouer à la main chaude, embrasser Charlot, moufionner son mufle
dans le son, tirer sa crampe avec la veuve, passer sa bille au glaive,
aller à l’Abbaye de Monte-à-regret, passer à la voyante, être mécanisé,
être glaivé.”
FAUCHE-ARDENT, _m._ (thieves’), _snuffers_.
FAUCHER (popular), le persil, _to be a street-walker_. (Thieves’)
Faucher, _to deceive_, “to best;” _to steal_, “to claim.” For synonyms
see GRINCHIR. Faucher, _to guillotine_. See FAUCHÉ.
Aussitôt les forçats, les ex-galériens, examinent cette
mécanique ... ils l’appellent tout à coup l’Abbaye de
Monte-à-Regret! Ils étudient l’angle décrit par le couperet
d’acier et trouvent pour en peindre l’action, le verbe
faucher!--=BALZAC=, _La Dernière Incarnation de Vautrin_.
Faucher dans le pont, _to fall into a trap_; ---- le colas, _to cut
one’s throat_; ---- le grand pré,_ to be undergoing a term of penal
servitude at a convict settlement_. The convicts formerly were made to
work on galleys, the long oar they plied being compared to a scythe
and the sea to a large meadow. Lesage, in his _Gil Blas_, terms this
“émoucher la mer avec un éventail de vingt pieds.” A more recent
expression describes it as “écrire ses mémoires avec une plume de
quinze pieds.”
FAUCHETTES, _f. pl._ (popular and thieves’), _scissors_.
FAUCHEUR, _m._ (thieves’), _thief who steals watch-chains_, “slang or
tackle-buzzer;” executioner. Properly _reaper_. Rabelais called him
“Rouart,” or _he who breaks on the wheel_; (journalists’) _dandy_. From
his peculiar gait.
FAUCHEUX, _m._ (thieves’), _scissors_; (popular) _man with long thin
legs_, or “daddy long-legs.” Properly _a field spider_.
FAUCHON, _m._ (popular), _sword_, “toasting-fork.” Un ---- de satou, _a
wooden sword_.
FAUCHURE, _f._ (thieves’), _a cut inflicted by some sharp instrument or
weapon_.
FAUCONNIER, _m._ (thieves’), _confederate of the proprietor of a
gaming-house_.
FAUSSANTE, _f._ (thieves’), _false name_, _alias_.
FAUSSE-COUCHE, _f._ (popular), _man without any energy_, _a_ “sappy”
_fellow_. Properly _a miscarriage_.
FAUSSE-MANCHE, _f._, _fatigue jacket worn by the students of the
military school of Saint-Cyr_.
FAUVE, _f._ (thieves’), _snuff-box_, or “sneezer.”
FAUVETTE, _f._ (thieves’), à tête noire, _gendarme_.
FAUX-COL, _m._ (familiar), _head of a glass of beer_. Garçon, trop
d’faux-col à la clef! _Waiter, too much head by half!_
FÉDÉRÉ, _m._ (popular), avoir un ---- dans la casemate, or un
polichinelle dans le tiroir, _to be pregnant_, or “lumpy.”
FÉE, _f._ (popular and thieves’), _love_; _young girl_, or “titter.” La
---- n’est pas loffe, _the girl is no fool_. Gaffine la ----, _look at
the girl_, “nark the titter.”
FÉESANT, _m._ (thieves’), _lover_. From fée, _love_.
FÉESANTE, _f._ (thieves’), _sweetheart_, or “moll.”
FÊLÉ, _adj._ (popular), avoir le coco ----, _to be crazy_, _to be_ “a
bit balmy in one’s crumpet.”
FÊLER (popular), se ----, _to become crazy_.
FELOUSE, or FENOUSE, _f._ (thieves’), _meadow_.
FELOUSE, FELOUZE, or FOUILLOUSE, _f._ (thieves’), _pocket_, or “cly;”
---- à jeun, _empty pocket_.
Il demanda à sezière s’il n’avait pas quelques luques de
son babillard; il répondit qu’oui, et mit la louche en sa
felouze et en tira une, et la ficha au cornet d’épices pour
la mouchailler.--_Le Jargon de l’Argot._ (_He asked him
whether he had any pictures from his book. He said yes, and
put his hand in his pocket, drew one out, and gave it to
the friar to look at._)
FEMME, _f._ (familiar), de Breda, _gay girl_. Quartier Breda is the
Paris St. John’s Wood; (popular) ---- au petit pot, _rag-picker’s
consort_; ---- de terrain, _low prostitute_, or “draggle-tail.” See
GADOUE. (Thieves’ and cads’) Femme de cavoisi, _dressy prostitute
who frequents the Boulevard cafés_; (military) ---- de l’adjudant,
_lock-up_, “jigger,” or “Irish theatre;” ---- de régiment, _big
drum_; (familiar) ---- pur faubourg, _is said of a lady with highly
polished manner, or ironically of one whose manners are anything but
aristocratic_.
FENASSE, _f._ (popular), _man without energy_, _a lazy man_. Old word
fen, _hay_.
FENDANTE, _f._ (thieves’), _door_, “jigger.” Termed also “lourde.”
FENDART, _m._ (popular), _braggart_, _swaggerer_, or “swashbuckler.”
Termed formerly “avaleur de charrettes ferrées.” Faire son ----,
_to brag_, _to swagger_, _to look big_, _to bluster_, “to bulldoze”
(American). Ne fais donc pas ton ----, “come off the tall grass,” as
the Americans say.
FENDRE (thieves’), l’ergot, _to run away_. Literally _to split
the spur_. The toes being pressed to the ground in the act are
naturally parted. For synonyms, French and English, see PATATROT.
(Card-sharpers’) Fendre le cul à une carte, _to notch a card for
cheating purposes_; (military) ---- l’oreille, _to place on the retired
list_. An allusion to the practice of splitting the ears of cavalry
horses no longer fit for service and put up for auction, termed “cast”
horses. (Popular) Fendre l’arche à quelqu’un, _to bore one to death_.
Literally _to split one’s head_. (General) Se ----, _to give oneself or
others an unusual treat_. Je me fends d’une bouteille, _I treat myself
to (or I stand treat for) a bottle of wine_.
Zut! je me fends d’un supplément!... Victor, une troisième
confiture!--=ZOLA=, _Au Bonheur des Dames_.
Se ---- à s’écorcher, _to be very generous with one’s money_.
FENÊTRE, _f._ (popular), boucher une ---- à quelqu’un, _to give one
a black eye_, “to put one’s eyes in half-mourning.” Faire la ----,
_is said of a prostitute who lies in wait at a window, and who by
sundry alluring signs seeks to entice passers-by into entering the
house_. Mettre la tête à la ----, _to be guillotined_. An allusion to
the passing the head through the lunette or circular aperture of the
guillotine.
FENÊTRIÈRE, _f._ (popular), _prostitute who lies in wait at a window,
whence she invites passers-by to enter_.
FENOUSE, or FELOUSE, _f._ (thieves’), _meadow_.
FÉODEC, _adj._ (thieves’), _unjust_.
FER À REPASSER, _m._ (popular), _shoe_, or “trotter-case.” See RIPATON.
FER-BLANC, _m._ (familiar), de ----, _worthless_. Des rognures de ----,
_inferior theatrical company_. Un écrivain de ----, _author without any
ability_, “penny-a-liner.”
FERBLANTERIE, _f._ (familiar), _decorations_.
FERBLANTIER, _m._ (naval), _official_.
FERLAMPIER, or FERLANDIER, _m._ (thieves’), bandit; sharper, or
“hawk;” _thief_, or “prig;” _lazy humbug_; _rogue_, or “bad egg.”
Ferlampié formerly had the signification of _dunce_.
FERLINGANTE, _f._ (thieves’), _crockery_.
FERLOQUES, _f. pl._ (popular), _rags_.
FERMER (popular), maillard, _to sleep_, “to doss.” An allusion to M.
Maillard, the inventor of iron-plate shutters; ---- son compas, _to
stop walking_; ---- son parapluie, _to die_. See PIPE. Fermer son
plomb, son égout, or sa boîte, _to hold one’s tongue_. Ferme ta boîte,
“shut up!” “hold your jaw!” A synonymous but more polite expression,
“Tace is Latin for a candle,” is used by Fielding.
“Tace, madam,” answered Murphy, “is Latin for a candle; I
commend your prudence.”--=FIELDING=, _Amelia_.
FÉROCE, _m. and adj._ (familiar), être ---- sur l’article, _to be
strict_. Pas ----, _made of poor stuff_. Un ----, _one devoted to his
duty_.
FERRÉ, _adj._ (thieves’), être ----, _to be locked up_, or “put away.”
FERRER LE GOUJON (popular), _to make one swallow the bait_.
FERTANGE, or FERTILLE, _f._ (thieves’), _straw_.
Tu es un rude mion; le môme pantinois n’est pas maquillé de
fertille lansquinée.--=V. HUGO=, _Les Misérables_. (_You
are a stunner; a child of Paris is not made of wet straw._)
FERTILLANTE, _f._ (thieves’), _feather_; _pen_; _tail_.
FERTILLE, _f._ (thieves’), _face_, or “mug;” _straw_, or “strommel.”
FERTILLIERS, _m. pl._ (thieves’), _wheat_.
FESSE, _f._ (popular), _woman_, “laced mutton.” Ma ----, _my better
half_. Magasin de fesses, _brothel_, or “nanny-shop.” (Bullies’) Fesse,
_paramour_, “moll.” Ma ---- turbine, _my girl is at work_.
FESSER (popular), _to do a thing quickly_; ---- le champagne, _to
partake freely of champagne_, “to swig sham or boy.” Rabelais has the
expression, “fouetter un verre,” _to toss off the contents of a glass
to the last drop_.
Fouette-moi ce verre galentement.--=RABELAIS=, _Gargantua_.
FESTON (popular), faire du ----, pincer un ----, _to reel about_; _to
make zigzags under the influence of drink_.
FESTONNAGE, _m._ (popular), _reeling about under the influence of
drink_.
FESTONNER DES GUIBOLLES (popular), _to reel about while in a state of
intoxication_.
FÊTE, _f._ (popular), du boudin, _Christmas_. (Popular and thieves’)
Etre de la ----, _to be lucky_, “to have cocum;” _to have means, or to
be_ “well ballasted.”
Moi je suis toujours de la fête, j’ai toujours bogue et bon
radin.--=VIDOCQ.=
FÉTICHE, _m._ (gamesters’), _marker, or any object which temporarily
represents the sum of money which has been staked at some game_.
FEU, _m._ (theatrical), faire ----, _to lay particular stress on
words_; (freemasons’) _to drink_. (Military) Ne pas s’embêter or
s’embrouiller dans les feux de file, _to be independent_; _not to stick
at trifles_. (Familiar) Allumer les feux, _to set a game going_.
Il est tout et il n’est rien dans ce cercle pschutt. Sa
mission est d’allumer les feux, d’où son nom bien connu:
l’allumeur.--=A. SIRVEN.=
FEUILLE, _f._ (popular), de chou, _ear_, or “wattle.” Une ---- de
platane, _a bad cigar_, or “cabbage leaf.” (Saumur school of cavalry)
Une ----, _a prostitute_. (Familiar) Une ---- de chou, _newspaper of
no importance_; _a worthless bond, not marketable_. Voir la ---- à
l’envers, _to have carnal intercourse, is said of a girl who gives her
favours_. (Military) Des feuilles de chou, _infantry gaiters_.
FEUILLET, _m._ (roughs’), _leaf of cigarette paper_. Aboule-moi un ----
et une brouettée d’allumettes, _give me some cigarette paper and a
match_.
FEUILLETÉE, _adj._ (familiar), properly _flaky_. Semelle ----,
_worn-out sole_. Termed also “pompe aspirante.”
Parfois aussi elle n’a que des bottines suspectes, à
semelles feuilletées qui sourient à l’asphalte avec une
gaieté intempestive.--=THÉOPHILE GAUTIER.=
FÈVE, _f._, attraper la ----. See ATTRAPER.
FIACRE, _m._ (popular), remiser son ----, _to become sedate,
well-behaved_.
FIAT, _m._ (thieves’), _trust_; _confidence_.
Il y a aujourd’hui tant de railles et de cuisiniers, qu’il
n’y a plus de fiat du tout.--=VIDOCQ.=
FICARD, _m._ (thieves’ and cads’), _police officer_, “crusher,” “pig,”
“copper,” “reeler,” or “bulky.” See POT-À-TABAC.
FICELER (familiar and popular), _to do_; _to dress_. Bien ficelé,
_carefully done_; _well dressed_.
Voilà maman Vauquer belle comme un astre, ficelée comme une
carotte.--=BALZAC=, _Le Père Goriot_.
FICELLE, _f._ (familiar and popular), _dodge_. Etre ----, _to be
tricky, a_ “dodger.”
Cadet Roussel a trois garçons:
L’un est voleur, l’autre est fripon;
Le troisième est un peu ficelle.
_Cadet Roussel_ (an old song).
(Thieves’ and police) Ficelle, _chain or strap_. (Police) Pousser de
la ----, _to watch a thief_; _to give him a_ “roasting.” (Sporting) Un
cheval ----, _a horse of very slender build_.
FICELLIER, _m._ (popular), _a tricky person who lives by his wits_, “an
artful dodger.”
FICHAISE, _f._ (general), _a worthless thing_, “not worth a curse.”
FICHANT, _adj._ (popular), _annoying_; _tiresome_; _disappointing_.