ABSTRACT
H n. m. de l’H: Heroin. Depuis un certain temps, il se came à l’H: He moved on to the hard stuff a while ago, and takes his trips on heroin. habillé n. m. Uniformed policeman. Les habillés: ‘The boys in blue’. Après un interrogatoire en règle, ils l’ont refilé aux habillés: After some thorough grilling, he was handed over to the uniformed branch. habillé past part. Etre habillé d’une peau de vache (of villainous character): To ‘look the part’, to be as evil-looking as one is deemed to be. habiller v. trans. (Police slang): To prepare a factual and irrefutable case against an apprehended culprit. This includes a comprehensive list of the charges, sworn testimonies, past criminal record and where possible, a signed confession. Ils l’ont bien habillé, avec un casier comme le sien c’était couru: What with his form, they made sure they got him to court with a watertight case. habiller v. pronom. S’habiller de quatre planches: To ‘get a wooden overcoat’, to ‘snuff it’, to die. habitants n. m. pl. Lice. Avoir des habitants: To have ‘little friends’, to be liceridden. habitué n. m. ‘Regular’, regular customer. hachesse adj. inv. ‘Pissed’, ‘blotto’, drunk. (In their DICTIONNAIRE DU FRANÇAIS NONCONVENTIONNEL, Jacques Cellard and Alain Rey find the origin of the word in the military abbreviation H.S. short for Hors Service. The nearest English equivalent would be U/S, short for unserviceable.) hallebardes n. f. pl. Il tombé des hallebardes: It’s raining cats and dogs-It’s pouring. hambourgeois n. m. Plain-clothes officcr, nonuniformed policeman. (The word is a pun on en bourgeois.) han n. m. Cry accompanying a sudden and vigorous effort. Pousser des han(s): To grunt and groan with effort. hanneton n. m. Ça n’est pas piqué des hannetons (joc.): It’s hunky-dory!—It’s first-rate. hareng n. m. 1 Ponce, pimp (also: maquereau). 2 (Racing slang): ‘Nag’, ‘gawky steed’, horse unlikely to win a race. 3 La mare aux harengs (joc.): ‘The briny’, the sea.
