ABSTRACT
T!—That’s fine by me! 7 Faire une main tombée: a To make a swoop for, to ‘pinch’, to steal. b To give a woman a sly stroke on the behind. 8 Se prendre en main (joc.): To ‘pull one’s wire’, to masturbate. 9 Se prendre par la main: To pluck up courage, to act in a confident manner. 10 Ne pas y aller de main morte: To ‘make no bones about something’, to be ruthlessly frank and aggressive. 11 Passer la main dans le dos à quelqu’un: To ‘butter up’, to flatter someone. Il aime bien se passer la main dans le dos: He likes to pat himself on the back. 12 Avoir un enfant de la main gauche: To have an illegitimate child. 13 Ne pas se moucher de la main gauche (iron.): To ‘fancy oneself’, to have no mean opinion of oneself. 14 C’est du cousu main: It’s done to a turn-It’s perfectly done. 15 Passer la main: a To ‘give in’, to let someone else handle things. b To ‘let things ride’, to be amenable. 16 La main de ma sœur dans la culotte d’un zouave: This jocular catch phrase has no specific meaning, but implies that whatever has been said or done is highly ridiculous. maintenir v. pronom. Ça se maintient (In answer to a question inquiring about someone’s health): ‘So-so’, ‘fair-to-middling’, no better no worse. mais adv. Non mais des fois! (iron.): Don’t make me laugh!—You must be joking! maison n. f. 1 (abbr. maison close or maison de passe): ‘Cat-house’, brothel. Maison d’abattage: Low-class brothel (usually situated near a harbour or army barracks). 2 La Grande Maison: ‘The cop-shop’, the police station. 3 La maison des mille lourdes: ‘The big house’, ‘the nick’, prison. 4 La maison tire-boutons: Lesbianism. 5 Gros comme une maison (adv. exp.): Plainly, clearly, obviously. Gros comme une maison, j’ai vu qu’il allait me demander du fric: I just knew he was going to ask me for a loan! maison adj. inv. ‘Ace’, first-rate, really out of the ordinary. Une engueulade maison: One hell of a telling-off. On a fait un gueuleton maison: We had ourselves a slap-up meal! mal n. m. 1 Avoir (also: se donner) un mal de chien: To have the devil of a job. Elle se donne un mal de chien pour élever ses enfants: She sweats her guts out to bring up her kids. 2 Avoir mal aux cheveux’. To ‘have a hangover’, to feel the after-effects of a drinking bout. 3 Etre guéri du mal de dents (iron.): To be ‘out of one’s misery’, to be dead. 4 En avoir mal au ventre: To feel sick at the thought of something. 5 Un pantalon à la mal au ventre: Old-fashioned trousers with frontal pockets. mal adv. 1 La foutre mai. To ‘look bad’, to give a bad impression. Vraiment, tu la fous mal toujours en pullover: You really let the side down, always wearing baggy pullovers. 2 Ça va mal, non?! (iron.): Are you alright?!—You must be joking! 3 Tu vas mal, toi! You’re going it a bit strong! —You’re exaggerating! 4 Tu me fais mal, toi! You give me the pip!—You make me sick! 5 Se trouver mal sur quelque chose (joc.): To ‘nick’, to ‘pinch’, to steal something. malabar n. m. 1 ‘Hulk’, hunk of a man. 2 Banknote of large denomination. malabar adj. 1 ‘Ginormous’, huge, large. 2 ‘Ace’, first-rate.
