ABSTRACT
D n. m. Système D. (abbr. système débrouille/ système démerde): A typically French ‘by hook or by crook’ way of solving tricky problems. The Système D. can apply to fiddly little problems like preventing the steaming-up of a bathroom mirror by wiping it with soapy water, or to ways of conning ‘the System’. dab n. m. (also: dabe): 1 ‘Pop’, dad, father. 2 (pl.): ‘The old folk’ (Mum and Dad). 3 ‘The guv’nor’, the boss. Fais gaffe, le dab se méfie de tout le monde: Watch out, mate, the gaffer doesn’t trust a soul! Dabe Proper name. Le Dabe: God Almighty, God the Father. J’aime pas ceux qui cherchent du suif au Dabe: I’ve no time for those who go knocking religion (also: Dabuche). dabe n. f. Ma dabe: Mum, mother (also: dabesse). dac interj. Right on!—O.K.!—Agreed! (also: d’acc!). dache A dache (adv.exp.): God knows where! —Far away. Vaut mieux lui téléphoner, il habite a dache: You’d better give him a ring, he lives miles away. Envoyer quelqu’un à (also: chez) dache: To ‘send someone packing’, to tell someone to go to hell. dada n. m. 1 (Child language): ‘Gee-gee’, horse. 2 (Racing slang) Les dadas: The horses. Il a mis toute sa paie sur des dadas a la manque: He put his whole pay on a string of crummy nags. 3 ‘Hobby-horse’, pet subject. 4 Faire dada: To ‘get a leg-over’, to have sex. dadais n. m. ‘Goof’, ‘gawk’, clumsy idiot. (The word dadais is seldom found on its own. The expression grand dadais stereotypes the tall, clumsy, accidentprone fool.) daim n. m. Vieux daim: Old beau, ageing male desperately trying to keep his looks. dalle n. f. 1 ‘Gullet’, throat. Se rincer la dalle: To ‘wet one’s whistle’, to have a drink. Avoir la dalle en pente: To be ‘something of a boozer’, to be a tippler. 2 ‘Gob’, mouth (in the context of food only, as in crever la dalle: to go hungry). dalle Que dalle (adv.exp.): ‘Fuck-all’, ‘sweet Fanny Adams’, nothing at all. N’y entraver que dalle: To understand bugger-all. Foutre que dalle: To ‘do fuck-all’, to laze about. Une grosse bagnole comme ça ne vaut que dalle! Big cars like that are just not worth the money!
