Street French Slang Dictionary & Thesaurus 0471168068, 9780471168065

Citation preview

David Burke

John WUey q Sons, IDC. New York

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Chichester

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Weinheim

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Brisbane

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Singapore

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Toronto

Design and Production: David Burke Copy Editors: Nicolas Caron and Pierre Ferulli Front Cover Illustration: Ty Semaka Inside Illustrations: Ty Semaka Copyright © 1997 by David Burke Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

All rights reserved. Published simultaneously in Canada. Reproduction or translation of any part of this work beyond that pennitted by section 107 or 108of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without the pennission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Requests for permission or further infonnation should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative infonnation in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. ISBN 0-471-16806-8

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 87 6 5 432 1

This book is dedicated to Lee Murphy:

Je t'adore du fond de mon battant!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CONTENTS

My special thanks to Ty Semaka for consistently providing illustrations that are distinctive, clever, and downright hilarious. Introduction .. . . . . . . . . . . . ... vii

I consider myself so very fortunate to have been under the wing of so many

Legend .

wonderful people during the creation of this book. A tremendous and warm

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.. ... .

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.... . . . .... ix

thanks goes to my pals at John Wiley & Sons: Geny Helferich, Chris Jackson, Elaine O'Neal, AI Schwartz, and Benjamin Hamilton. They are without a doubt the most friendly, supportive, encouraging, and infinitely talented group of people with whom I've had the pleasure to work.

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STREET FRENCH DICTIONARY (popular French Terms Including Slang, Idioms, Colloquialisms, Vulgarities, Proverbs, Special Notes, Synonyms, Antonyms, & Variations)

18,

Part %

POPt1lAJl FRENCH GBSTtTRBS

Part 3

197

BNGUSH WORDS USED IN FRENCH

Part 4

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STREET FRENCH THESAURUS (General Slang Synonyms & Expressions)

Parts

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STREET FHENCH THESAURUS (Obscenities, Vulgarities, Insults, Bodily Functions & Sounds, Sexual Slang, Offensive Language, etc.)

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INTRODUCTION

Slang, idioms, and colloquialisms are all an active part of the living French language. These nonstandard terms and expressions are used in movies, television and radio shows, news broadcasts, books, newspapers, magazines, business, etc., making it difficult for a nonnative speaker to feel like an "insider." The STREET FRENCH SLANG DICTIONARY U THESAURUS will lead the reader through many of the most popular and colorful terms and expressions rarely, if ever, taught in school. This unique book is divided into three primary parts:

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THE STREET FRENCH DICTIONARY (Part �) This section presents the reader with more than 2,000 popular French terms including slang, idioms, colloquialisms, vulgarities, proverbs, special notes, synonyms, antonyms, variations, plus an array of hilarious illustrations. In addition, usage examples are offered throughout this section to give the reader a clear understanding of the weight of a given entry.

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POPULAR FRENCH GESTURES (Part �) This entertaining section offers the reader a look at some of the most popular gestures used throughout France.

• ENGLISH

WORDS USED IN FRENCH (Part :))

Here the reader is presented with a surprising list of the many English words commonly used in the French language.

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THE STREET FRENCH THESAURUS (Part 4) Did you know there are 54 synonyms for partir ("to leave"), 59 synonyms

for iure ("drunk"), 95 synonyms for idiot ("idiot") and 41 synonyms for

manger ("to eat")? This section offers the reader an extensive list of French slang terms and idioms for a particular English word or expression. Usage examples are offered at the beginning of each category.

INTRODUCfION

viii

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Legend

THE STREET FRENCH THESAURUS (pa" 5) This unique portion of the thesaurus explores some of the most common expletives and obscenities used in France. These pages (marked with "danger" sign) allow the reader to look up a word in English and find an

aUer en eau de boudin expo to fizzle out (said of something at does not tum out).

assortment of colorful, and often shocking, synonyms for each entry.

"Mg')juml

Slang must be used with discretion because it is an extremely casual "language" that certainly should not be practiced with formal dignitaries or employers that you are trying to impress! Most importantly, since a non-native speaker of French may tend to sound forced or artificial using slang, your first goal should be to recognize and understand these types of words. Once you feel that you have a firm grasp on the usage of the

useful information about the preceding entry a common variation of the main entry in boldface

�eminine noun '--1 ,

�

boudin m. blood sausage

_-w:.w.;,&..&.::1:11

(made usually of the coagulated blood of a pig). ..w"W':"l'�!'r.'II""

lD ..-.1

andouiUe

Hnir en eau de boudin

idiot, jerk, nerd.

ardoises f.pl. public bathroom

slang words and expressions presented in this book, try using

Oit.): slates.

some in your conversations for extra color!

Welcome to the expressive and "colorful" world of French slang!

8 tout casser adv. at the most, at the outside. lit. : to reak everything.

badaboum

IT6

a big fight.

I masculine plural noun 1 � 1 adjective I...---------b-O-U-rre ::l -�- -e--: ( ) � adj . bagos

a term or expression equivalent in meaning to the main entry in boldface a term or expression opposite in meaning to the main entry in boldface

baggage.

drunk.

....r:ro::: ... �r"I':"::""'I'II nenette f. mec

m. guy, "dude."

on n'apprend pas 8 un vieux singe 8 faire la grimace provo

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paumer

to lose.

peine (8) col. hardly.

STREET FRENCH DICTIONARY Part

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(Popular French Terms Including Slang, Idioms, Colloquialisms, Vulgarities, Proverbs, Special Notes, Synonyms, Antonyms, & Variations)