Poule mouillee Milksop
Profonde Pocket.
Quart d’oeil. Peeler; copper.
Qui-qui. The throat. Derivation unknown.
Faire du rabiau. To be punished.
Racaille. Rabble; a bad lot.
Raccourcir. To behead.
Raseur. Today this still means a bore or a drag.
Reluquer. To make eyes at.
Pincer un rigadon. To dance in a humorous way. Still used of a baroque dance
Rigolarde. Lark; fun.
Rigolo. Jolly; larky.
Rousse. The police. Today it means a redhead.
Sabote. Bungled ( presumably derived from sabotage).
Avoir le sac. To have plenty of money.
Sainte.Toute la sainte journee. The whole blessed day
Boire sec. To swill; to get drunk.
Sapin. A cab. It has always meant a fir tree.
Jouer comme une savate. To play badly.
Serin. Duffer. Faire le serin. To play the fool.
Payer en monnaie de singe. To let ( ) whistle for his money.
Surin. A knife ( murderer’s slang).
Suriner. To stab. ( see above).
Etre passé a tabac. To be ill-treated by the police.
Cet eleve a besoin d’etre tanne. This boy wants sitting upon ( school slang).
Un tas de choses. Lots of things.
Decrocher la timbale. To be successful. The timbale referred to is probably a pair of cylindrical drums played with a stick rather than a dish composed of minced meat in a pastry case. Perhaps one would celebrate success by unhooking the drums and playing them.
Tordant. Ripping; splitting.
Toupet. Cheek ( or impudence).
Tournailler. To potter about. To play the fool.
Trognon. Ducky/darling.
Trottin. Milliner’s apprentice who ‘ trots’ with a band box.
Faire le trottoir. To walk the streets.
Tube. Chimney pot ( top hat)
Tuile. Awkward thing; mishap. Today a tuile is a crispy wafer.
Turbin. Hard work.
Tuyau. Tip ( on races).
Type. Un bon type. A nice fellow. Un sale type. A beast. Un vieux type. An old fogey.
Vache. Parler francais comme une vache espagnole. To talk horrible French.
Vadrouille. A low woman.
Vadrouiller. To mooch about. To be on the booze.
Pleurer comme un veau. To cry like a baby.
Veinard. A lucky chap.
Aller en velo. To ride a bicycle.
Verte. A glass of absinth. In England at this time absinth was known as ‘ the green fairy’.
Vespasienne. A street lavatory. Derivation unclear, but pissoirs in France are still known by this name.
Remporter une veste. To fail.
Veuve. The guillotine. Presumably because it made widows of wives.
Violon. Lock- up. Derivation unknown. A violon is a violin.
Voyou. Cad.
Wagon. A dirty old woman. Perhaps referring to a farm wagon or short for wagon-lit or sleeping car, which perhaps at this time were renowned for being dirty or unkempt.
Il n’a pas froid aux yeux. He does not funk.
Youtre. A Jew.
Zut. Hang it. Stuff !. Zut alors. Well, dash it all!
Taken from The Continong (1894)
R. M. Healey