Dictionary of Modern Colloquial French

Edwin A. Lovatt, Rene James Herail

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2005
• Print ISBN: 9781138140127
• eBook ISBN: 9781134930616
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

The only French-English dictionary to offer comprehensive, unexpurgated coverage of French slang, with three levels of English translation, ranging from slang through to standard English.

C

C n. f. De la C: ‘Coke’, ‘snow’, cocaine.

ça dem. pron. A familiar contraction of cela, this pronoun’s colloquiality is commensurate with context and usage. 1 Sex, sexual matters. Faire ça: To ‘have it off’. Ne penser qu’à ça: To have a one-track mind. 2 Ah, ça?! Who knows?!— God only knows! Ah, ça?! Te dire s’il va venir?! Search me! I don’t know if he’s coming! 3 Comme ça (form of ‘verbal padding’): So… Alors, comme ça elle me dit…et je lui réponds comme ça…: So I says to her…and she says to ec… Alors comme ça, vous vous mariez? So you’re getting married then? 4 Et avec ça! (iron.): Get away! —Go on with you!—You’re joking?! Il ne picole pas?! Et avec ça! Him on the wagon? You must be joking! 5 C’est ça! Right on! You’ve got it in one! 6 C’est tout à fait ça: That’s just the job.— That’s just what I want. 7 Ce n’est pas tout ça, mais…: That’s all very well, but… Cen’est pas tout ça, mais moi, il faut que je rentre: It’s O.K. for you (to talk), but I’ve got to get home. 8 Avoir de ça: To be ‘loaded’, to have plenty of money (also: avoir de quoi). 9 Il y a de ça! There’s some truth in it! Il y a de ça! Tu sais, son mariage n ‘est pas des plus réussis: You’re not far off the truth! She’s not all that happily married. 10 Il n’y a que ça: There’s nothing like it!—You can’t beat it! Un bon cigare à la fin d’un repas, ‘y a que ça! A good cigar at the end of a meal just makes it perfect. 11 Remettre ça: To have another. Alors, on remet ça? C’est ma Let’s have another drink, it’s my round!

cab n. m. (abbr. cabot): ‘Mutt’, ‘pooch’, dog.

cabane n. f. 1 ‘Nick’, ‘clink’, jail. Faire de la cabane: To do time. (The word is an abbreviated version of la cabane aux mille lourdes.) 2 (joc.): House (often a résidence secondaire or weekend dwelling). The tongue-in-cheek jocularity derives from the primary meaning: shack, equated with the grandeur of the residence described. 3 Attiger la cabane: To ‘lay it on a bit thick’, to exaggerate.

cabanon n. m. 1 Modest weekend dwelling. (The word originates from the Côte d’Azur.) 2 ‘Nut-house’, lunatic asylum. Il est bon pour le cabanon! He’s just about ready for the happy farm!

cabêche n. f. ‘Bean’, ‘brainbox’, head. N’avoir rien dans la cabêche: To be pig-ignorant.

caberlot n. m. 1 Country pub (the kind of back-of-beyond ale-house with a very limited clientele). 2 ‘Bean’, ‘brainbox’, head. Avoir le caberlot en roue libre: To be ‘offone’s rocker’, to ‘have a screw loose’, to be more than slightly mad.

cabince n. f. 1 Ship’s cabin. 2 (pl.): ‘Shit-house’, ‘karzey’, lavatory.

cables n. m. pl. Faire des câbles pour la marine: To do ‘number two’s’, to ‘shit’, to defecate.

cabochard n. m. ‘Mule’, stubborn character.

cabochard adj. ‘Pig-headed’, stubborn. Il est tout ce qu’il y a de cabochard: He’s as stubborn as a mule.

caboche n. f. ‘Bean’, ‘bonce’, head. Avoir une caboche en pain de sucre: To have an egg-shaped skull. Avoir la caboche dure (fig.): To be ‘slow on the uptake’, to be dim-witted. Elle n’a rien dans la caboche: She’s not exactly bursting with O-levels!

cabochon n. m. 1 ‘Bean’, ‘bonce’, head. Il a pris un coup de goumi sur le cabochon: He got himself coshed. Se monter le cabochon: a To ‘kid oneself’, to delude oneself. b To get ‘het-up’, to work oneself into a frenzy. 2 ‘Nous’, intelligence. Sers-toi de ton cabochon! Use your loaf! -For heaven’s sake, think! 3 ‘Biff’, clout, blow. 4 Flashy (often phoney) diamond. 5 Car’s side-light. (The kind of near-useless lighting device made redundant on modern cars; the cabochon, equipped with a tiny bulb, used to protrude like a pimple on car wings.)

cabombe n. f. Glim, glimmer, the dim irradiation of a weak lighting device.

cabossé adj. 1 (of metal surface): ‘Dinged’, dented. 2 (of person): Bruised, battered. Sa gueule cabossée expliquait dix ans de ring: His lumpy features were a testimony to his boxing past.

cabot n. m. 1 ‘Mutt’, ‘pooch’, dog. 2 (mil.): ‘Corp’, corporal. 3 (th.): ‘Ham’, ham actor. 4 ‘Swank’, show-off. Quel cabot! Faut toujours qu’il se fasse remarquer! He’s always playing to the gallery!

caboter v. intrans. To roam the world (literally to lead the life of a rolling stone).

cabotin n. m. 1 ‘Ham’, ham actor. 2 ‘Swank’, show-off.

cabotin adj. ‘Swanky’, show-off, vain. Il est cabotin comme il est pas possible de l’être! He thinks the world of himself, he does!

cabotinage n. m. ‘Hamming’, playing to the gallery (putting on airs and graces associated with a bad stage performance).

caboulot n. m. Modest dance-hall. (The petit caboulot, often an open-air establishment in the prettier suburbs of Paris, evokes nostalgic memories of the 30s, 40s and 50s.)

cabriole n. f. Faire la cabriole (fig.): a To do a ‘U-turn’, to change one’s mind radically about an issue (usually in order to comply with the majority). b To ‘come unstuck’ financially, to go bankrupt. c To ‘do a bunk’, to do a moonlight flit, to run away with the cash. d To ‘croak’, to ‘snuff it’, to die.

cabriolets n. m. pl. ‘Derbies’, ‘bracelets’, handcuffs.

caca n. m. (Nursery language): ‘Biggies’, ‘number two’s’, excrement.

caca adj. inv. 1 Mucky, dirty. 2 Couleur caca d’oie: Pea-green.

cacasse n. f. Aller à (la) cacasse: To have anal intercourse.

cacatoire adj. ‘Shitty’, very boring. J’ai toujours trouvé les math cacatoires! Maths have always bored the pants off me!

cache-fri-fri n. m. ‘G-string’, pair of mini-briefs.

cachemire n. m. (joc.): Duster, dusting cloth.

cache-misère n. m. (joc.): Long overcoat hiding tatty clothes.

cacher v. trans. 1 To ‘wolf’, to down vast quantities of food. 2 Cacher son jeu: To play one’s cards close to one’s chest and reveal nothing. 3 Cacher la merde au chat (joc. & iron.): To ‘sweep something under the carpet’, to hide incriminating material and thus avoid problems.

cachet n. m. 1 Avoir du cacher: To have class, to have style. 2 Courir le cachet (of actor): To tout for parts. 3 Avoir un teint de cachet d’aspirine: To be as palc as death.

cacheton n. m. (corr. cachet) 1 (th.): Actor’s fee. 2 Payment received by prostitute. 3 Pill, tablet.

cachetonneur n. m. (th.): Bit-part actor chasing employment.

cachotterie n. f. Petty secret. Faire des cachotte...

Table of contents

• COVER PAGE
• TITLE PAGE
• COPYRIGHT PAGE
• PREFACE
• PRÉFACE
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• ABBREVIATIONS
• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Y
• Z