ABSTRACT
kangourou n. m. ‘Jocks’, ‘Y-fronts’, jockey shorts. (The slip kangourou, one of the first Y-fronts to be sold in France, became generic for this item of clothing.) kasba n. f. (also: kasbah): 1 Home, house. Viens boire un verre à la kasba: Why don’t you drop in for a drink? 2 (pej.): ‘Shack’, ‘dump’, hovel. kékouok n. m. This jocular phonetic transcription of ‘cake-walk’, a popular World War II dance, is used by Raymond Queneau in his novel PIERROT MON AMI. kick n. m. 1 Kick-start lever on motorbike. 2 ‘Kick’, surge of pleasure experienced by drug addict. kif n. m. (Drugs): ‘Hash’, hashish, Indian hemp. kif-kif adj. inv. C’est kif-kif (bourricot): It’s six of one, half a dozen of the other —It makes no odds-It’s the same thing. C’est pas du kif. It’s a different kettle of fish-It’s quite a different matter. kiki n. m. 1 ‘Gullet’, throat. Serrer le kiki à quelqu’un: To wring someone’s neck, to throttle someone. 2 C’est parti, mon kiki! (Jocular interjection): That’s it!—There we go! (This friendly rhyming expression is usually uttered when things have got offto a good start.) kil n. m. ‘Litre of plonk’, bottle of cheap red wine. On s’est payé un kil à trois’. The three of us downed a bottle of vino (also: kilbus). kilo n. m. 1 ‘Litre of plonk’, bottle of cheap red wine. (The fact that 100 cl. of water weigh 1 kilogram explains this colloquial meaning.) 2 (sch.): A half-day’s detention. 3 (mil.): 24 hours in the cooler, one day’s detention in a punishment cell. 4 Déposer un kilo: To ‘have a crap’, to ‘shit’, to defecate (also: poser un étron). kino n. m. Le kino: The flicks’, the cinema. On s’est payé une toile au kino: We took in a movie at the old flea-pit. kir n. m. Pleasant drink of white wine and blackcurrant cordial. (This drink was made famous by the chanoine Kir of Dijon.) klaxon n. m. Hooter, horn. (Named after a famous make of car horns.) klaxonner v. trans. & intrans. To hoot, to honk one’s horn. klébard n. m. (pej.): ‘Mutt’, ‘pooch’, dog (also: clebs). k.o. adj. inv. ‘Knackered’, ‘buggered’, exhausted. Quand je rentre du boulot, j’suis k.o.: When I get home from work, I’m all in.
