ABSTRACT
Roquette Proper name. La Roquette: Women’s prison in Paris. (The Prison de la Roquette has always suffered from a certain notoriety because its inmatesprostitutes, brothelkeepers, etc.—formed a hard core of recidivists.) rosalie n. f. (mil): ‘Pig-sticker’, bayonet. rosbif n. m. ‘Brit’, British person. (The ‘roast beef’ origin gives the alimentary connotation so well reciprocated in English by the appellation ‘frog’ where Frenchmen are concerned; neither is truly pejorative.) rosbif adj. inv. British. Dans le temps, les voitures rosbif c’était de la bonne camelote! In the old days British cars used to be a cut above the rest! rose n. f. 1 Envoyer quelqu’un sur les roses: To ‘send someone off with a flea in his ear’, to tell someone off in no uncertain manner. 2 Ça n’a pas été des roses! It wasn’t all plain sailing!—It wasn’t that easy! 3 Bouton de rose: ‘Clit’, clitoris. 4 Faire feuille de rose: To perform anilingus. rosette n. f. Arse-hole, anus (where sodomous intercourse is concerned. The expressions amateur de rosette and chevalier de la rosette refer respectively to active and passive homosexuals). rossard n. m. 1 ‘ldle git’, lazy fellow. 2 ‘Nasty piece of work’, evil character. rossard adj. 1 Idle, lazy. 2 Nasty, evil. rosse n. f. 1 ‘Nag’, horse long past its prime. 2 ‘Nasty so-and-so’, evil-minded person. (Like many pejorative appellations, this femmine word becomes more derogatory when directed at a male.) rosse adj. 1 ‘Catty’, ‘bitchy’, mean and nasty. 2 Sharp-tongued, sarcastic. (This adjective is often used in a non-derogatory context when each meaning is mellowed by intonation. Dans le fond, tu n’es pas si rosse que ça! You’re not as nasty as you make yourself out to be!) rossée n. f. ‘Bashing-up’, thrashing, beating. rosser v. trans. 1 To ‘bash up’, to beat black and blue. 2 To ‘beat into a cocked hat’, to trounce. rosserie n. f. 1 Snide remark. Elle passe son temps à dire des rosseries! Nasty gossip seems to be her trade in life! 2 Dirty trick, underhand deed. Il m’a fait une de ces rosseries! You wouldn’t believe the dirty one he pulled on me! rossignol n. m. 1 Irritating squeak, persistent noise within a motor-driven contraption. 2 Skeleton key (for illegal purposes). 3 (Antique-dealers’ slang): ‘White elephant’, unsaleable item. rot n. m. ‘Burp’, belch. roter v. intrans. 1 To ‘burp’, to belch. 2 En roter: To ‘get the rough end of the stick’, to have a tough time. roteuse n. f. (joc.): Bottle of champagne. roteux n. m. ‘Champers’, ‘bubbly’, champagne. rôti n. m. S’endormir sur le rôti: a To ‘dawdle over one’s work’, to treat it in a lackadaisical fashion. b To show little ardour where lovemaking is concerned. rotin n. m. Ne pas avoir un rotin: To be ‘skint’, ‘broke’, to be penniless. rôtissoire n. f. (joc.): Crematorium (also: grillroom). rotoplots n. m .pl. ‘Boobs’, ‘knockers’, breasts.
