Mais sapristi, jugez d’mon embargo,Depuis ce temps elle est toujours pompette,Et chez l’mintzingue ell’ croque le magot.Almanach Chantant, 1869.Minuit,m.(thieves’),negro. Termed also, in different kinds of slang, “Bamboula,boule de neige,boîte à cirage,bille de pot-au-feu,mal blanchi,” and in the English slang, “snowball, Sambo, bit o’ ebony, blacky.”Enfant de ——meant formerlythief.Enfants de la messe de minuit, says Cotgrave, “quiresters of midnights masse; night-walking rakehells, or such as haunt these nightly rites, not for any devotion, but only to rob, abuse, or play the knaves with others.”Minzingue, orminzingo,m.(popular),landlord of tavern. Termed alsomanzinguin,mindzingue.La philosophie, vil mindzingue, quand ça ne servirait qu’à trouver ton vin bon.—Grévin.Mion,m.(thieves’), child, or “kid;”—— de gonesse,stripling;—— de boule,thief, “prig.” SeeGrinche.Mipe,m.(thieves’),faire un —— à quelqu’un,to outdrink one.Miradou,m.(thieves’),mirror.Mirancu,m.(obsolete),apothecary.Respect au capitaine Mirancu! Qu’il aille se coucher ailleurs, car s’il s’avisoit de jouer de la seringue, nous n’avons pas de canesons pour l’en empêcher.—L’Apothicaire empoisonné, 1671.Mirancu, a play on the wordsmire en cul, which may be better explained in Béralde’s words, inMolière’sLe Malade Imaginaire:—Allez, monsieur; on voit bien que vous n’avez pas accoutumé de parler à des visages.Mirecourt,m.(thieves’),violin. The town of Mirecourt is celebrated for its manufactures of stringed instruments.Rigaudsays that it is thus termed from a play on the wordsmire court,look on from a short distance, the head of the performer being bent over the instrument, thus bringing his eyes close to it.Mire-laid,m.(popular),mirror. An expression which cannot be gratifying to those too fond of admiring their own countenances in the glass.Mirettes,f. pl.(popular and thieves’),eyes, “peepers, ogles, top-lights, or day-lights.” Fielding uses the latter slang term:—Good woman! I do not use to be so treated. If the lady says such another word to me, damn me, I will darken her day-lights.—Fielding,Amelia.In old cant eyes were termed “glaziers.”Toure out with your glaziers, I swear by the ruffin,That we are assaulted by a queer cuffin.Broome,A Jovial Crew.Which meanslook out with all your eyes, I swear by the devil a magistrate is coming.Mirettes en caoutchouc, oren caouche,telescope;—— glacées, oren glacis,spectacles, or “gig-lamps.”Sans ——,blind, or “hoodman.”Mireur,m.(popular),one who looks on intently;spy;person employed in the immense underground store cellars of the Halles to inspect provisions by candle-light.Deux cents becs de gaz éclairent ces caves gigantesques, où l’on rencontre diverses industries spéciales. ... Les “mireurs,” qui passent à la chandelle une délicate révision des sujets. Les “préparateurs de fromages” qui font “jaunir” le chester, “pleurer” le gruyère, “couler” le brie ou “piquer” le roquefort.—E.Frébault.Mirliflore,m.(familiar),a dandy of the beginning of the present century. For synonyms seeGommeux. The term has now passed into the language with the signification ofsilly conceited dandy or fop.Nos mirliflorsVaudroient-ils cet homme à ressorts?Chansons de Collé.Concerning the derivation of this wordLittrémakes the following remarks: “Il y avait dans l’ancien françaismirlifique, altération demirifique; on peut penser que mirliflore est une altération analogue oùfloroufleurremplace fique: qui est comme une fleur merveilleuse. Francisque Michel y voit une altération demille-fleurs, dénomination prise des bouquets dont se paraient les élégants du temps passé.” It is more probable, however, that the term is connected witheau de mille-fleurs, an elixir of all flowers, a mixed perfume, and this origin seems to be borne out by the circumstance that after the Revolution of 1793 dandies received the name of “muscadins,” frommusc, or musk, their favourite perfume. Workmen sometimes call a dandy “un puant.” Seethis word.Mirliton,m.(popular),nose, or “smeller.” For synonyms seeMorviau. Alsovoice.Avoir le —— bouché,to have a bad cold in the head.Jouer du ——,to talk, “to jaw;”to blow one’s nose.Mirlitonproperly signifies a kind of reed-pipe.Mirobolamment(familiar and popular),marvellously, “stunningly.”Mirobolant,adj.(familiar and popular),excellent, “slap-up, or scrumptious;”marvellous, “crushing.”Eh! c’est la bande! c’est la fameuse, la superbe, l’invincible, à jamais triomphante, séduisante et mirobolante bande du Jura.—Bande du Jura.Madame de Gasparin.“Mirobolant” is a corruption ofadmirable. Another instance of this kind of slang formation is “abalobé,” fromabalourdi.Miroir,m.(card-sharpers’),a rapid glance cast on the stock of a game of piquet, or on the first cards dealt at the game of baccarat. A tricky “dodge” which enables the cheat to gain a knowledge of his opponent’s hand. (Popular)Un —— à putains, synonymous ofbellâtre,a handsome but vulgar man, one likely to find favour with the frail sisterhood.Rigaudsays: “Miroir à putains, joli visage d’homme à la manière des têtes exposées à la vitrine des coiffeurs.” The phrase is old.Dis-lui qu’un miroir à putainPour dompter le Pays LatinEst un fort mauvais personnage.Scarron.Fielding thus expatiates on the readiness of women to look with more favour on a handsome face than on an intellectual one:—How we must lament that disposition in these lovely creatures which leads them to prefer in their favour those individuals of the other sex who do not seem intended by nature as so great a masterpiece!... If this be true, how melancholy must be the consideration that any single beau, especially if he have but half a yard of ribbon in his hat, shall weigh heavier in the scale of female affection than twenty Sir Isaac Newtons!—Mr. Jonathan Wild the Great.Mirquin,m.(thieves’),woman’s cap.Mirzales,f. pl.(thieves’),earrings.Mise,f.(prostitutes’),faire sa ——,to pay a prostitute her fee, or “present.” (Popular)Mise à pied,temporary or permanent dismissal from one’s employment, the“sack.”Mise-bas,f.(popular)strike of work; (servants’)cast-off clothes which servants consider as their perquisites.Miser(gamesters’),to stake.Et si je gagne ce soir cinq à six mille francs au lansquenet, qu’est-ce que soixante-dix mille francs de perte pour avoir de quoi miser?—Balzac.Misérable,m.(popular),one halfpenny glass of spirits, “un monsieur” being one that will cost four sous, and “un poisson” five sous.Misloque, ormislocq,f.(thieves’),theatre;play.Flancher, orjouer la ——,to act.Ah! ce que je veux faire, je veux jouer la mislocq.—Vidocq.Misloquier,m.,misloquière,f.(thieves’),actor, “cackling cove,” or “mug faker,” andactress.Mississipi,m.(popular),au ——,very far away.Mistenflûte,f.(popular),thingumbob.Mistiche(thieves’),un ——,half a “setier,” or small measure of wine.Une ——,half an hour.Mistick,m.(thieves’),foreign thief.Mistigris, ormisti,m.(popular),knave of clubs;apprentice to a house decorator.Miston(thieves’). SeeAllumer. (Popular)Mon ——,my boy, “my bloater.”Mistouf, ormistouffle,f.(popular),practical joke;scurvy trick.Faire une —— à quelqu’un,to pain, to annoy one.Vous lui aurez fait quelque mistouf, vous l’aurez menacée de quelque punition, et alors.—A.Cim,Institution de Demoiselles.Coup de ——,scurvy trick brewing.Faire des mistouffles,to teaze, “to spur,”to annoy one. (Thieves’)Mistouffle à la saignante,trap laid for the purpose of murdering one.Voilà trop longtemps ... que le vieux me la fait au porte-monnaie. Il me faut son sac. Mais ... pas de mistouffle à la saignante, je n’aime pas ça. Du barbotage tant qu’on voudra.—Mémoires de Monsieur Claude.Mistron,m.(popular),a game of cards called“trente et un.”Mistronneur,m.(popular),amateur of“mistron”(which see).Mitaine,f.(thieves’),grinchisseuse à la ——,female thief who causes some property, lace generally, to fall from a shop counter, and by certain motions of her foot conveys it to her shoe, where it remains secreted.Mitard,m.(police),unruly prisoner confined in a punishment cell.Mite-au-logis,f.(popular),disease of the eyes. A play on the wordsmiteandmythologie.Miteux,adj.(familiar and popular),is said of one poorly clad, of a wretched-looking person.Quand nous arrivâmes à la posada, on ne voulut pas nous recevoir, l’aubergiste nous trouvant, comme disait La Martinière mon compagnon de route, trop “miteux.”—Hector France,A travers l’Espagne.Mitraille,f.(general),pence,coppers. The expression is old. This term seems to be derived from the word “mite,” copper coin worth four “oboles,” used in Flanders.Mitrailleuse,f.(popular),étouffer une ——,to drink a glass of wine. Synonymous of “boire un canon.”Mitre,f.(thieves’),prison, or “stir. SeeMotte. Meant formerlyitch, the word being derived from the name of a certain ointment termed “mithridate.”Mobilier,m.(thieves’),teeth, or “ivories.” Literallyfurniture.Moblot,m.(familiar),used forMobilein 1870. “La garde mobile” at the beginning of the war formed the reserve corps.Mocassin,m.(popular),shoe. SeeRipaton.Moc-aux-beaux(thieves’),quarter ofLa Place Maubert.Moche, ormouche,adj.(popular and thieves’),bad.Mode,f.(swindlers’),concierge à la ——,a doorkeeper who is an accomplice of a gang of swindlers termedBande noire(which see).La “bande noire” était—et est encore, car le dixième à peine des membres sont arrêtés—une formidable association, ayant pour spécialité d’exploiter le commerce des vins de Paris, de la Bourgogne et du Bordelais.... Pour chaque affaire, le courtier recevait dix francs. Le concierge, désigné sous le nom bizarre de concierge à la mode, n’était pas moins bien rétribué. Il touchait dix francs également.—Le Voltaire, 6 Août, 1886.Modèle,m.(familiar),grandfather or grandmother.Moderne,m.(familiar),young man of the “period,”in opposition to antique,old-fashioned.Modillon,f.(modistes’),a second year apprentice at a modiste’s.Modiste,m.(literary), formerlya journalist who sought more to pander to the tastes of the day than to acquire any literary reputation.Moelleux,m.(popular),cotton, which is soft.Moelonneuse,f.(popular),prostitute who frequents builders’ yards. SeeGadoue.Moignons,m. pl.(popular),thick clumsy ankles. TheSlang Dictionarysays a girl with thick ankles is called a “Mullingar heifer” by the Irish. A story goes that a traveller passing through Mullingar was so struck with this local peculiarity in the women, that he determined to accost the next one he met. “May I ask,” said he, “if you wear hay in your shoes?” “Faith, an’ I do,” said the girl, “and what then?” “Because,” said the traveller, “that accounts for the calves of your legs coming down to feed on it.”Moine,m.(familiar),earthen jar filled with hot water, which does duty for a warming pan; (printers’)spot on a forme which has not been touched by the roller, and which in consequence forms a blank on the printed leaf. Termed “friar” by English printers. (Popular)Mettre le ——,to fasten a string to a sleeping man’s big toe. By jerking the string now andthen the sleeper’s slumbers are disturbed and great amusement afforded to the authors of the contrivance. This sort of practical joking seems to be in favour in barrack-rooms.Donner, orbailler le ——, was synonymous ofmettre le ——, and, used as a proverbial expression, meantto bear ill luck.Moine-lai,m.(popular),old military pensioner who has become an imbecile.Moinette,f.(thieves’),nun,moinebeing amonk.Moïse,m.(familiar and popular),man deceived by his wife. The term is old, for, saysLe Roux, “Moïse, mot satirique, qui signifie cocu, homme à qui on a planté des cornes.”Moitié,f.(popular),tu n’es pas la —— d’une bête,you are no fool.Oui, t’es pas la moitié d’une bête. Là-dessus aboule tes quatre ronds.—G.Courteline.Molanche,f.(thieves’),wool. Frommol,soft.Molard,m.(familiar and popular),expectoration, or “gob.”Molarder(familiar and popular),to expectorate.Molière,m.(theatrical),scenery which may be used for the performance of any play ofMolière.Molle,adj.(popular and thieves’),être ——,to be penniless, alluding to an empty pocket, which is flabby; “to be hard up.”Mollet,m.(popular).M.Charles Nisard, in hisParisianismes Populaires, says of the word, “Gras de la partie postérieure de la jambe” (the proper meaning), and he adds, “Partie molle de diverses autres choses.”Vous ne cachez pas tous vos mollets dans vos bas: c’est comme la barque d’Anières, ça n’sart plus qu’à passer l’iau.—Le Déjeuner de la Rapée.Following the adage, “Le latin dans les mots brave l’honnêteté,”M.Nisard gives the following explanation of the above:—“Hæc sunt verba cujusdam petulantis mulierculæ ad quemdam jam senescentem virum, convalescentem e morbo, et carnale opus adhuc penes se esse male jactantem. In eo enim Thrasone mulieroso pars ista corporis quam proprie vocant ‘Mollet,’ non solum in tibialibus ejus inclusa erat, sed et in bracis, ubi, mutata ex toto forma, nil valebat nisi, scaphæ Asnieriæ instar, ‘à passer l’eau,’ id est, ad meiendum. Sed, animadvertas, oro, sensum locutionis ‘passer l’eau’ æquivocum; hic enim unda transitur, illic eadem transit.”Mollusque,m.(familiar),narrow-minded man;routine-loving man;huîtrebeing a common term for afool.Momaque,m.(thieves’),child, or “kid.”Momard, ormomignard,m.(popular),child, or “kid.”Môme,m.andf.(popular and thieves’),child, or “kid.”Ces mômes corrompus, ces avortons flétris,Cette écume d’égoût c’est la levure immonde,De ce grand pain vivant qui s’appelle Paris,Et qui sert de brioche au monde.Richepin.Môme noir,student at a priest’s seminary. Thus termed on account of their clerical attire. Called also by thieves, “Canneur du mec des mecs,”afraid of God.Une ——,young woman, “titter.”Va, la môme, et n’fais pas four.Richepin.Une ——, ormômeresse,mistress, “blowen.”C’est ma ——,elle est ronflante ce soir,It is my girl, she has money to-night.Un —— d’altèque,handsome young man.Taper un ——,to commit a theft;to commit infanticide.Car elle est en prison pour un môme qu’elle a tapé.—From a thief’s letter, quoted byL.Larchey.Madame Tire-mômes,midwife. Termed in the seventeenth century, “madame du guichet, orportière du petit guichet.” (Convicts’)Môme bastaud,convict who is a Sodomist, a kind of male prostitute.Mômeuse,f.SeeMômière.Momicharde,f.(popular),little girl.Envoie les petites ... qu’elles aboulent, les momichardes!—Louise Michel.Mômière,f.(thieves’),midwife. Termed also “Madame Tire-mômes,Madame Tire-monde, ortâte-minette.”Momignard,m.(popular and thieves’),child, or “kid;”baby;—— d’altèque,a fine child.Frangine d’altèque, je mets l’arguemine à la barbue, pour te bonnir que ma largue aboule de mômir un momignard d’altèque.—Vidocq. (My good sister, I take the pen to say that my wife has just given birth to a fine child.)Momignardage à l’anglaise,m.(popular),miscarriage.Momignarde,f.(popular and thieves’),little girl;young girl, “titter.”Mes momignardes ... allons, c’est dit, on rebâtira le sinve. Il faut espérer que la daronne du grand Aure nous protégera.—Vidocq. (My little girls ... come, it’s settled, the fool shall be killed. Let us hope the Holy Virgin will protect us.)Mômir(popular and thieves’),to be delivered of a child, “to be in the straw.” TheSlang Dictionarysays: “Married ladies are said to be in the straw at their accouchement.” The phrase is a coarse metaphor, and has reference to farmyard animals in a similar condition. It may have originally been suggested to the inquiring mind by the Nativity.Mômir pour l’aff,to have a miscarriage. Termed also “casser son œuf,décarrer de crac.”Monacos,m. pl.(familiar and popular),money. SeeQuibus.Je vais te prouver à toi et à ta grue, ... que je suis encore bonne pour gagner des monacos. Et allez-y!—Hector France,Marie Queue-de-Vache.Avoir des ——,to be wealthy. Termed also “être foncé,être sacquard, ordouillard;avoir le sac,de l’os,des sous,du foin dans ses bottes,de quoi,des pépettes, orde la thune;être californien.” The English synonyms being “to be worth a plum, to be well ballasted, to be a rag-splawger, to have lots of tin, to have feathered one’s nest, to be warm, to be comfortable.”Abouler les ——,to pay, “to fork out, to shell out, to down with the dust, to post the pony, to stump the pewter, to tip the brads.”Monant,m.,monante,f.(thieves’),friend.Monarque,m.(popular),five-franc piece. Termed also “roue de derrière,” the nearly corresponding coin, a crown piece, being called in English slang a “hind coach wheel.” (Prostitutes’)Monarque,money.Faire son ——,to have found clients.Monde,m.(popular),renversé,guillotine. SeeVoyante.Il y a du —— au balconis said of a woman with large breasts,of one with opulent“Charlies.” (Familiar)Demi ——,world of cocottes,kept women.Dans ce qu’on appelle le demi-monde il y a nombre de filles en carte, véritables chevaliers d’industrie de la jeunesse et de l’amour qui, bien en règle avec la préfecture, mènent joyeuse vie pendant quinze ans et éludent constamment la police correctionnelle.—Léo Taxil.(Showmen’s)Du ——,public who enter the show. There may be a large concourse of people outside, but no “monde.”Monfier(thieves’),to kiss.Mon gniasse(popular and thieves’),me, “my nibs.”Mon linge est lavé(popular),I give in, “I throw up the sponge.”Monnaie,f.(popular),plus que ça de ——!what luck!Mon œil!(popular),expressive of refusal or disbelief, “don’t you wish you may get it?” or “do you see any green in my eye?” SeeNèfles.Monôme,m.(students’),yearly procession in single file through certain streets of Paris of candidates to the government schools.Monorgue(thieves’),I,myself.Monseigneur,m.(thieves’), orpince ——,short crowbar with which housebreakers force open doors or safes. Termed “Jemmy, James, or the stick.”Ils font sauter gâches et serrures ... avec une espèce de pied de biche en fer qu’ils appellent cadet, monseigneur, ou plume.—Canler.Monseigneuriser(thieves’),to force open a door, “to strike a jigger.”Monsieur,m.(artists’),le ——,the principal figure in a picture. (Popular)Un ——,a twopenny glass of brandy;a five-sous glass of wine from the bottle at a wine retailer’s;—— Vautour, orPère Vautour,the landlord; alsoan usurer.Vous accorder un nouveau délai pour le capital? ... mais depuis trois ans ... vous n’avez pas seulement pu rattraper les intérêts.—Ah! père Vautour, ça court si vite vos intérêts!—Gavarni.Monsieur à tubard,a well-dressed man,one who sports a silk hat;—— bambou,a stick, a gentleman whose services are sometimes put in requisition by drunken workmen as an irresistible argument to meet the remonstrances of an unfortunate better half, as in the case ofMartineandSganarelleinMolière’sLe Médecin malgré lui;—— Lebon,a good sort of man, that is, one who readily treats others to drink;—— de Pètesec,stuck-up man, with dry, sharp manner;—— hardi,the wind;—— Raidillon, or Pointu,proud, stuck-up man; (thieves’)—— de l’Affure,one who wins money at a game honestly or not;—— de la Paume,he who loses; (theatrical)—— Dufour est dans la salle,expression used by an actor to warn another that he is not acting up to the mark and that he will get himself hissed, or “get the big bird.” (Familiar and popular)Un —— à rouflaquettes,prostitutes bully, or “pensioner.” For list of synonyms seePoisson.Monsieur de Paris,the executioner. Formerly each large town had its own executioner:Monsieur de Rouen,Monsieur de Lyon,&c.Concerning the officeBalzacsays:—Les Sanson, bourreaux à Rouen pendant deux siècles, avant d’être revêtus de la première charge du royaume, exécutaient de père en fils les arrêts de la justice depuis le treizième siècle. Il est peu de familles qui puissent offrir l’exemple d’un office ou d’une noblesse conservée de père en fils pendant six siècles.Monsieur personne,a nobody. (Brothels’)Monsieur,husband of the mistress of a brothel.Monsieur, avec son épaisse barbiche aux poils tors et gris.—E. de Goncourt,La Fille Elisa.(Cads’)Monsieur le carreau dans l’œil,derisive epithet applied to a man with an eye-glass;—— bas-du-cul,man with short legs.Monstre,m.,any words which a musician temporarily adapts to a musical production composed by him.Monstrico,m.(familiar),ugly person,one with a“knocker face.”Montage de coup,m.(popular),the act of seeking to deceive by misleading statements.Mon vieux, entre nous,Te n’coup’ pas du toutDans c’montage de coup;Faut pas m’monter l’coup.Aug. Hardy.Montagnard,m.(popular),additional horse put on to an omnibus going up hill.Montagne du géant,f.(obsolete),gallows, “scrag, nobbing cheat, or government signpost.”Montant,m.andadj.(thieves’),breeches, “trucks, hams, sit-upons, or kicks.” (Military)Grand —— tropical,riding breeches;petit ——,drawers. (Familiar)Montant,term which is used to denote anything which excites lust.Montante,f.(thieves’),ladder. Literallya thing to climb up.Monte-à-regret(thieves’),abbaye de ——,the guillotine. Formerlythe gallows. This name was given the scaffold because criminals were attended there by one or more priests, and on account of the natural repugnance of a man for this mode of being put out of his misery.Michelrecords the fact, that atSens, one of the streets leading to the market-place, where executions took place, still bore, a few years ago, the name ofMonte-à-regret.Chanoine de ——,one sentenced to death. Termed also “grognon,” orgrumbler.Monter à l’abbaye de ——,to be guillotined, meant formerlyto be hanged, to suffer the extreme penalty of the law on “wry-neck day,” when the criminal before being compelled to put on the “hempen cravat,” would perhaps utter for the edification of the crowd his “tops, or croaks,” that is, his last dying speech. It is curious to note how people of all nations have always striven to disguise the idea of death by the rope by means of some picturesque or grimly comical circumlocution. The popular language is rich in metaphors to describe the act. In the thirteenth century people would express hanging by the term “mettre à la bise;” in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries an executed criminal was spoken of as “vendangeant à l’eschelle,avoir collet rouge,croître d’un demi-pied,faire la longue lettre,tomber du haut mal,” and later on: “Servir de bouchon,faire le saut,faire un saut sur rien,donner un soufflet à une potence,donner le moine par le cou,approcher du ciel à reculons,danser un branle en l’air,avoir la chanterelle au cou,faire le guet à Montfaucon,faire le guet au clair de la lune à la cour des monnoyes.” Also, “monter à la jambe en l’air.” Then a hanged man was “un évêque des champs” (on account of executions taking place in the open country) “qui bénit des pieds,” and hanging itself, “une danse où il n’y a pas de plancher,” which corresponds to the expression, “to dance upon nothing.” The poor wretch was also said tobe “branché,” a summary proceeding performed on the nearest tree, and he was made to “tirer la langue d’un demi-pied.” The poetFrançois Villonbeing in the prison of theChâteletin 1457, under sentence of death for a robbery supposed to have been committed atRueilby himself and some companions, several of whom were hanged, but whose fate he luckily did not share, thus alludes with grim humour to his probable execution:—Je suis François, dont ce me poise,Né de Paris emprès Ponthoise,Or, d’une corde d’une toise,Saura mon col que mon cul poise.When Jonathan Wild the Great is about to expiate his numerous crimes, and his career is soon to be terminated at Tyburn, Fielding makes him say: “D—n me, it is only a dance without music; ... a man can die but once.... Zounds! Who’s afraid?” Master Charley Bates, in common with his “pals,” called hanging “scragging”:—“He’ll come to be scragged, won’t he?” “I don’t know what that means,” replied Oliver. “Something in this way, old feller,” said Charley. As he said it, Master Bates caught up an end of his neckerchief, and holding it erect in the air, dropped his head on his shoulder, and jerked a curious sound through his teeth; thereby intimating, by a lively pantomimic representation, that “scragging” and hanging were one and the same thing.—Dickens,Oliver Twist.The expression is also to be met with in Lord Lytton’sPaul Clifford:—“Blow me tight, but that cove is a queer one! and if he does not come to be scragged,” says I, “it will only be because he’ll turn a rusty, and scrag one of his pals!”Again, the same author puts in the mouth of his hero, Paul Clifford, the accomplished robber, the “Captain Crank,” or chief of a gang of highwaymen, a poetical simile, “to leap from a leafless tree”:—
Mais sapristi, jugez d’mon embargo,Depuis ce temps elle est toujours pompette,Et chez l’mintzingue ell’ croque le magot.Almanach Chantant, 1869.
Mais sapristi, jugez d’mon embargo,Depuis ce temps elle est toujours pompette,Et chez l’mintzingue ell’ croque le magot.Almanach Chantant, 1869.
Mais sapristi, jugez d’mon embargo,Depuis ce temps elle est toujours pompette,Et chez l’mintzingue ell’ croque le magot.Almanach Chantant, 1869.
Mais sapristi, jugez d’mon embargo,
Depuis ce temps elle est toujours pompette,
Et chez l’mintzingue ell’ croque le magot.
Almanach Chantant, 1869.
Minuit,m.(thieves’),negro. Termed also, in different kinds of slang, “Bamboula,boule de neige,boîte à cirage,bille de pot-au-feu,mal blanchi,” and in the English slang, “snowball, Sambo, bit o’ ebony, blacky.”Enfant de ——meant formerlythief.Enfants de la messe de minuit, says Cotgrave, “quiresters of midnights masse; night-walking rakehells, or such as haunt these nightly rites, not for any devotion, but only to rob, abuse, or play the knaves with others.”
Minzingue, orminzingo,m.(popular),landlord of tavern. Termed alsomanzinguin,mindzingue.
La philosophie, vil mindzingue, quand ça ne servirait qu’à trouver ton vin bon.—Grévin.
Mion,m.(thieves’), child, or “kid;”—— de gonesse,stripling;—— de boule,thief, “prig.” SeeGrinche.
Mipe,m.(thieves’),faire un —— à quelqu’un,to outdrink one.
Miradou,m.(thieves’),mirror.
Mirancu,m.(obsolete),apothecary.
Respect au capitaine Mirancu! Qu’il aille se coucher ailleurs, car s’il s’avisoit de jouer de la seringue, nous n’avons pas de canesons pour l’en empêcher.—L’Apothicaire empoisonné, 1671.
Mirancu, a play on the wordsmire en cul, which may be better explained in Béralde’s words, inMolière’sLe Malade Imaginaire:—
Allez, monsieur; on voit bien que vous n’avez pas accoutumé de parler à des visages.
Mirecourt,m.(thieves’),violin. The town of Mirecourt is celebrated for its manufactures of stringed instruments.Rigaudsays that it is thus termed from a play on the wordsmire court,look on from a short distance, the head of the performer being bent over the instrument, thus bringing his eyes close to it.
Mire-laid,m.(popular),mirror. An expression which cannot be gratifying to those too fond of admiring their own countenances in the glass.
Mirettes,f. pl.(popular and thieves’),eyes, “peepers, ogles, top-lights, or day-lights.” Fielding uses the latter slang term:—
Good woman! I do not use to be so treated. If the lady says such another word to me, damn me, I will darken her day-lights.—Fielding,Amelia.
In old cant eyes were termed “glaziers.”
Toure out with your glaziers, I swear by the ruffin,That we are assaulted by a queer cuffin.Broome,A Jovial Crew.
Toure out with your glaziers, I swear by the ruffin,That we are assaulted by a queer cuffin.Broome,A Jovial Crew.
Toure out with your glaziers, I swear by the ruffin,That we are assaulted by a queer cuffin.Broome,A Jovial Crew.
Toure out with your glaziers, I swear by the ruffin,
That we are assaulted by a queer cuffin.
Broome,A Jovial Crew.
Which meanslook out with all your eyes, I swear by the devil a magistrate is coming.Mirettes en caoutchouc, oren caouche,telescope;—— glacées, oren glacis,spectacles, or “gig-lamps.”Sans ——,blind, or “hoodman.”
Mireur,m.(popular),one who looks on intently;spy;person employed in the immense underground store cellars of the Halles to inspect provisions by candle-light.
Deux cents becs de gaz éclairent ces caves gigantesques, où l’on rencontre diverses industries spéciales. ... Les “mireurs,” qui passent à la chandelle une délicate révision des sujets. Les “préparateurs de fromages” qui font “jaunir” le chester, “pleurer” le gruyère, “couler” le brie ou “piquer” le roquefort.—E.Frébault.
Mirliflore,m.(familiar),a dandy of the beginning of the present century. For synonyms seeGommeux. The term has now passed into the language with the signification ofsilly conceited dandy or fop.
Nos mirliflorsVaudroient-ils cet homme à ressorts?Chansons de Collé.
Nos mirliflorsVaudroient-ils cet homme à ressorts?Chansons de Collé.
Nos mirliflorsVaudroient-ils cet homme à ressorts?Chansons de Collé.
Nos mirliflors
Vaudroient-ils cet homme à ressorts?
Chansons de Collé.
Concerning the derivation of this wordLittrémakes the following remarks: “Il y avait dans l’ancien françaismirlifique, altération demirifique; on peut penser que mirliflore est une altération analogue oùfloroufleurremplace fique: qui est comme une fleur merveilleuse. Francisque Michel y voit une altération demille-fleurs, dénomination prise des bouquets dont se paraient les élégants du temps passé.” It is more probable, however, that the term is connected witheau de mille-fleurs, an elixir of all flowers, a mixed perfume, and this origin seems to be borne out by the circumstance that after the Revolution of 1793 dandies received the name of “muscadins,” frommusc, or musk, their favourite perfume. Workmen sometimes call a dandy “un puant.” Seethis word.
Mirliton,m.(popular),nose, or “smeller.” For synonyms seeMorviau. Alsovoice.Avoir le —— bouché,to have a bad cold in the head.Jouer du ——,to talk, “to jaw;”to blow one’s nose.Mirlitonproperly signifies a kind of reed-pipe.
Mirobolamment(familiar and popular),marvellously, “stunningly.”
Mirobolant,adj.(familiar and popular),excellent, “slap-up, or scrumptious;”marvellous, “crushing.”
Eh! c’est la bande! c’est la fameuse, la superbe, l’invincible, à jamais triomphante, séduisante et mirobolante bande du Jura.—Bande du Jura.Madame de Gasparin.
“Mirobolant” is a corruption ofadmirable. Another instance of this kind of slang formation is “abalobé,” fromabalourdi.
Miroir,m.(card-sharpers’),a rapid glance cast on the stock of a game of piquet, or on the first cards dealt at the game of baccarat. A tricky “dodge” which enables the cheat to gain a knowledge of his opponent’s hand. (Popular)Un —— à putains, synonymous ofbellâtre,a handsome but vulgar man, one likely to find favour with the frail sisterhood.Rigaudsays: “Miroir à putains, joli visage d’homme à la manière des têtes exposées à la vitrine des coiffeurs.” The phrase is old.
Dis-lui qu’un miroir à putainPour dompter le Pays LatinEst un fort mauvais personnage.Scarron.
Dis-lui qu’un miroir à putainPour dompter le Pays LatinEst un fort mauvais personnage.Scarron.
Dis-lui qu’un miroir à putainPour dompter le Pays LatinEst un fort mauvais personnage.Scarron.
Dis-lui qu’un miroir à putain
Pour dompter le Pays Latin
Est un fort mauvais personnage.
Scarron.
Fielding thus expatiates on the readiness of women to look with more favour on a handsome face than on an intellectual one:—
How we must lament that disposition in these lovely creatures which leads them to prefer in their favour those individuals of the other sex who do not seem intended by nature as so great a masterpiece!... If this be true, how melancholy must be the consideration that any single beau, especially if he have but half a yard of ribbon in his hat, shall weigh heavier in the scale of female affection than twenty Sir Isaac Newtons!—Mr. Jonathan Wild the Great.
Mirquin,m.(thieves’),woman’s cap.
Mirzales,f. pl.(thieves’),earrings.
Mise,f.(prostitutes’),faire sa ——,to pay a prostitute her fee, or “present.” (Popular)Mise à pied,temporary or permanent dismissal from one’s employment, the“sack.”
Mise-bas,f.(popular)strike of work; (servants’)cast-off clothes which servants consider as their perquisites.
Miser(gamesters’),to stake.
Et si je gagne ce soir cinq à six mille francs au lansquenet, qu’est-ce que soixante-dix mille francs de perte pour avoir de quoi miser?—Balzac.
Misérable,m.(popular),one halfpenny glass of spirits, “un monsieur” being one that will cost four sous, and “un poisson” five sous.
Misloque, ormislocq,f.(thieves’),theatre;play.Flancher, orjouer la ——,to act.
Ah! ce que je veux faire, je veux jouer la mislocq.—Vidocq.
Misloquier,m.,misloquière,f.(thieves’),actor, “cackling cove,” or “mug faker,” andactress.
Mississipi,m.(popular),au ——,very far away.
Mistenflûte,f.(popular),thingumbob.
Mistiche(thieves’),un ——,half a “setier,” or small measure of wine.Une ——,half an hour.
Mistick,m.(thieves’),foreign thief.
Mistigris, ormisti,m.(popular),knave of clubs;apprentice to a house decorator.
Miston(thieves’). SeeAllumer. (Popular)Mon ——,my boy, “my bloater.”
Mistouf, ormistouffle,f.(popular),practical joke;scurvy trick.Faire une —— à quelqu’un,to pain, to annoy one.
Vous lui aurez fait quelque mistouf, vous l’aurez menacée de quelque punition, et alors.—A.Cim,Institution de Demoiselles.
Coup de ——,scurvy trick brewing.Faire des mistouffles,to teaze, “to spur,”to annoy one. (Thieves’)Mistouffle à la saignante,trap laid for the purpose of murdering one.
Voilà trop longtemps ... que le vieux me la fait au porte-monnaie. Il me faut son sac. Mais ... pas de mistouffle à la saignante, je n’aime pas ça. Du barbotage tant qu’on voudra.—Mémoires de Monsieur Claude.
Mistron,m.(popular),a game of cards called“trente et un.”
Mistronneur,m.(popular),amateur of“mistron”(which see).
Mitaine,f.(thieves’),grinchisseuse à la ——,female thief who causes some property, lace generally, to fall from a shop counter, and by certain motions of her foot conveys it to her shoe, where it remains secreted.
Mitard,m.(police),unruly prisoner confined in a punishment cell.
Mite-au-logis,f.(popular),disease of the eyes. A play on the wordsmiteandmythologie.
Miteux,adj.(familiar and popular),is said of one poorly clad, of a wretched-looking person.
Quand nous arrivâmes à la posada, on ne voulut pas nous recevoir, l’aubergiste nous trouvant, comme disait La Martinière mon compagnon de route, trop “miteux.”—Hector France,A travers l’Espagne.
Mitraille,f.(general),pence,coppers. The expression is old. This term seems to be derived from the word “mite,” copper coin worth four “oboles,” used in Flanders.
Mitrailleuse,f.(popular),étouffer une ——,to drink a glass of wine. Synonymous of “boire un canon.”
Mitre,f.(thieves’),prison, or “stir. SeeMotte. Meant formerlyitch, the word being derived from the name of a certain ointment termed “mithridate.”
Mobilier,m.(thieves’),teeth, or “ivories.” Literallyfurniture.
Moblot,m.(familiar),used forMobilein 1870. “La garde mobile” at the beginning of the war formed the reserve corps.
Mocassin,m.(popular),shoe. SeeRipaton.
Moc-aux-beaux(thieves’),quarter ofLa Place Maubert.
Moche, ormouche,adj.(popular and thieves’),bad.
Mode,f.(swindlers’),concierge à la ——,a doorkeeper who is an accomplice of a gang of swindlers termedBande noire(which see).
La “bande noire” était—et est encore, car le dixième à peine des membres sont arrêtés—une formidable association, ayant pour spécialité d’exploiter le commerce des vins de Paris, de la Bourgogne et du Bordelais.... Pour chaque affaire, le courtier recevait dix francs. Le concierge, désigné sous le nom bizarre de concierge à la mode, n’était pas moins bien rétribué. Il touchait dix francs également.—Le Voltaire, 6 Août, 1886.
Modèle,m.(familiar),grandfather or grandmother.
Moderne,m.(familiar),young man of the “period,”in opposition to antique,old-fashioned.
Modillon,f.(modistes’),a second year apprentice at a modiste’s.
Modiste,m.(literary), formerlya journalist who sought more to pander to the tastes of the day than to acquire any literary reputation.
Moelleux,m.(popular),cotton, which is soft.
Moelonneuse,f.(popular),prostitute who frequents builders’ yards. SeeGadoue.
Moignons,m. pl.(popular),thick clumsy ankles. TheSlang Dictionarysays a girl with thick ankles is called a “Mullingar heifer” by the Irish. A story goes that a traveller passing through Mullingar was so struck with this local peculiarity in the women, that he determined to accost the next one he met. “May I ask,” said he, “if you wear hay in your shoes?” “Faith, an’ I do,” said the girl, “and what then?” “Because,” said the traveller, “that accounts for the calves of your legs coming down to feed on it.”
Moine,m.(familiar),earthen jar filled with hot water, which does duty for a warming pan; (printers’)spot on a forme which has not been touched by the roller, and which in consequence forms a blank on the printed leaf. Termed “friar” by English printers. (Popular)Mettre le ——,to fasten a string to a sleeping man’s big toe. By jerking the string now andthen the sleeper’s slumbers are disturbed and great amusement afforded to the authors of the contrivance. This sort of practical joking seems to be in favour in barrack-rooms.Donner, orbailler le ——, was synonymous ofmettre le ——, and, used as a proverbial expression, meantto bear ill luck.
Moine-lai,m.(popular),old military pensioner who has become an imbecile.
Moinette,f.(thieves’),nun,moinebeing amonk.
Moïse,m.(familiar and popular),man deceived by his wife. The term is old, for, saysLe Roux, “Moïse, mot satirique, qui signifie cocu, homme à qui on a planté des cornes.”
Moitié,f.(popular),tu n’es pas la —— d’une bête,you are no fool.
Oui, t’es pas la moitié d’une bête. Là-dessus aboule tes quatre ronds.—G.Courteline.
Molanche,f.(thieves’),wool. Frommol,soft.
Molard,m.(familiar and popular),expectoration, or “gob.”
Molarder(familiar and popular),to expectorate.
Molière,m.(theatrical),scenery which may be used for the performance of any play ofMolière.
Molle,adj.(popular and thieves’),être ——,to be penniless, alluding to an empty pocket, which is flabby; “to be hard up.”
Mollet,m.(popular).M.Charles Nisard, in hisParisianismes Populaires, says of the word, “Gras de la partie postérieure de la jambe” (the proper meaning), and he adds, “Partie molle de diverses autres choses.”
Vous ne cachez pas tous vos mollets dans vos bas: c’est comme la barque d’Anières, ça n’sart plus qu’à passer l’iau.—Le Déjeuner de la Rapée.
Following the adage, “Le latin dans les mots brave l’honnêteté,”M.Nisard gives the following explanation of the above:—“Hæc sunt verba cujusdam petulantis mulierculæ ad quemdam jam senescentem virum, convalescentem e morbo, et carnale opus adhuc penes se esse male jactantem. In eo enim Thrasone mulieroso pars ista corporis quam proprie vocant ‘Mollet,’ non solum in tibialibus ejus inclusa erat, sed et in bracis, ubi, mutata ex toto forma, nil valebat nisi, scaphæ Asnieriæ instar, ‘à passer l’eau,’ id est, ad meiendum. Sed, animadvertas, oro, sensum locutionis ‘passer l’eau’ æquivocum; hic enim unda transitur, illic eadem transit.”
Mollusque,m.(familiar),narrow-minded man;routine-loving man;huîtrebeing a common term for afool.
Momaque,m.(thieves’),child, or “kid.”
Momard, ormomignard,m.(popular),child, or “kid.”
Môme,m.andf.(popular and thieves’),child, or “kid.”
Ces mômes corrompus, ces avortons flétris,Cette écume d’égoût c’est la levure immonde,De ce grand pain vivant qui s’appelle Paris,Et qui sert de brioche au monde.Richepin.
Ces mômes corrompus, ces avortons flétris,Cette écume d’égoût c’est la levure immonde,De ce grand pain vivant qui s’appelle Paris,Et qui sert de brioche au monde.Richepin.
Ces mômes corrompus, ces avortons flétris,Cette écume d’égoût c’est la levure immonde,De ce grand pain vivant qui s’appelle Paris,Et qui sert de brioche au monde.Richepin.
Ces mômes corrompus, ces avortons flétris,
Cette écume d’égoût c’est la levure immonde,
De ce grand pain vivant qui s’appelle Paris,
Et qui sert de brioche au monde.
Richepin.
Môme noir,student at a priest’s seminary. Thus termed on account of their clerical attire. Called also by thieves, “Canneur du mec des mecs,”afraid of God.Une ——,young woman, “titter.”
Va, la môme, et n’fais pas four.Richepin.
Va, la môme, et n’fais pas four.Richepin.
Va, la môme, et n’fais pas four.Richepin.
Va, la môme, et n’fais pas four.
Richepin.
Une ——, ormômeresse,mistress, “blowen.”C’est ma ——,elle est ronflante ce soir,It is my girl, she has money to-night.Un —— d’altèque,handsome young man.Taper un ——,to commit a theft;to commit infanticide.
Car elle est en prison pour un môme qu’elle a tapé.—From a thief’s letter, quoted byL.Larchey.
Madame Tire-mômes,midwife. Termed in the seventeenth century, “madame du guichet, orportière du petit guichet.” (Convicts’)Môme bastaud,convict who is a Sodomist, a kind of male prostitute.
Mômeuse,f.SeeMômière.
Momicharde,f.(popular),little girl.
Envoie les petites ... qu’elles aboulent, les momichardes!—Louise Michel.
Mômière,f.(thieves’),midwife. Termed also “Madame Tire-mômes,Madame Tire-monde, ortâte-minette.”
Momignard,m.(popular and thieves’),child, or “kid;”baby;—— d’altèque,a fine child.
Frangine d’altèque, je mets l’arguemine à la barbue, pour te bonnir que ma largue aboule de mômir un momignard d’altèque.—Vidocq. (My good sister, I take the pen to say that my wife has just given birth to a fine child.)
Momignardage à l’anglaise,m.(popular),miscarriage.
Momignarde,f.(popular and thieves’),little girl;young girl, “titter.”
Mes momignardes ... allons, c’est dit, on rebâtira le sinve. Il faut espérer que la daronne du grand Aure nous protégera.—Vidocq. (My little girls ... come, it’s settled, the fool shall be killed. Let us hope the Holy Virgin will protect us.)
Mômir(popular and thieves’),to be delivered of a child, “to be in the straw.” TheSlang Dictionarysays: “Married ladies are said to be in the straw at their accouchement.” The phrase is a coarse metaphor, and has reference to farmyard animals in a similar condition. It may have originally been suggested to the inquiring mind by the Nativity.Mômir pour l’aff,to have a miscarriage. Termed also “casser son œuf,décarrer de crac.”
Monacos,m. pl.(familiar and popular),money. SeeQuibus.
Je vais te prouver à toi et à ta grue, ... que je suis encore bonne pour gagner des monacos. Et allez-y!—Hector France,Marie Queue-de-Vache.
Avoir des ——,to be wealthy. Termed also “être foncé,être sacquard, ordouillard;avoir le sac,de l’os,des sous,du foin dans ses bottes,de quoi,des pépettes, orde la thune;être californien.” The English synonyms being “to be worth a plum, to be well ballasted, to be a rag-splawger, to have lots of tin, to have feathered one’s nest, to be warm, to be comfortable.”Abouler les ——,to pay, “to fork out, to shell out, to down with the dust, to post the pony, to stump the pewter, to tip the brads.”
Monant,m.,monante,f.(thieves’),friend.
Monarque,m.(popular),five-franc piece. Termed also “roue de derrière,” the nearly corresponding coin, a crown piece, being called in English slang a “hind coach wheel.” (Prostitutes’)Monarque,money.Faire son ——,to have found clients.
Monde,m.(popular),renversé,guillotine. SeeVoyante.Il y a du —— au balconis said of a woman with large breasts,of one with opulent“Charlies.” (Familiar)Demi ——,world of cocottes,kept women.
Dans ce qu’on appelle le demi-monde il y a nombre de filles en carte, véritables chevaliers d’industrie de la jeunesse et de l’amour qui, bien en règle avec la préfecture, mènent joyeuse vie pendant quinze ans et éludent constamment la police correctionnelle.—Léo Taxil.
(Showmen’s)Du ——,public who enter the show. There may be a large concourse of people outside, but no “monde.”
Monfier(thieves’),to kiss.
Mon gniasse(popular and thieves’),me, “my nibs.”
Mon linge est lavé(popular),I give in, “I throw up the sponge.”
Monnaie,f.(popular),plus que ça de ——!what luck!
Mon œil!(popular),expressive of refusal or disbelief, “don’t you wish you may get it?” or “do you see any green in my eye?” SeeNèfles.
Monôme,m.(students’),yearly procession in single file through certain streets of Paris of candidates to the government schools.
Monorgue(thieves’),I,myself.
Monseigneur,m.(thieves’), orpince ——,short crowbar with which housebreakers force open doors or safes. Termed “Jemmy, James, or the stick.”
Ils font sauter gâches et serrures ... avec une espèce de pied de biche en fer qu’ils appellent cadet, monseigneur, ou plume.—Canler.
Monseigneuriser(thieves’),to force open a door, “to strike a jigger.”
Monsieur,m.(artists’),le ——,the principal figure in a picture. (Popular)Un ——,a twopenny glass of brandy;a five-sous glass of wine from the bottle at a wine retailer’s;—— Vautour, orPère Vautour,the landlord; alsoan usurer.
Vous accorder un nouveau délai pour le capital? ... mais depuis trois ans ... vous n’avez pas seulement pu rattraper les intérêts.—Ah! père Vautour, ça court si vite vos intérêts!—Gavarni.
Monsieur à tubard,a well-dressed man,one who sports a silk hat;—— bambou,a stick, a gentleman whose services are sometimes put in requisition by drunken workmen as an irresistible argument to meet the remonstrances of an unfortunate better half, as in the case ofMartineandSganarelleinMolière’sLe Médecin malgré lui;—— Lebon,a good sort of man, that is, one who readily treats others to drink;—— de Pètesec,stuck-up man, with dry, sharp manner;—— hardi,the wind;—— Raidillon, or Pointu,proud, stuck-up man; (thieves’)—— de l’Affure,one who wins money at a game honestly or not;—— de la Paume,he who loses; (theatrical)—— Dufour est dans la salle,expression used by an actor to warn another that he is not acting up to the mark and that he will get himself hissed, or “get the big bird.” (Familiar and popular)Un —— à rouflaquettes,prostitutes bully, or “pensioner.” For list of synonyms seePoisson.Monsieur de Paris,the executioner. Formerly each large town had its own executioner:Monsieur de Rouen,Monsieur de Lyon,&c.Concerning the officeBalzacsays:—
Les Sanson, bourreaux à Rouen pendant deux siècles, avant d’être revêtus de la première charge du royaume, exécutaient de père en fils les arrêts de la justice depuis le treizième siècle. Il est peu de familles qui puissent offrir l’exemple d’un office ou d’une noblesse conservée de père en fils pendant six siècles.
Monsieur personne,a nobody. (Brothels’)Monsieur,husband of the mistress of a brothel.
Monsieur, avec son épaisse barbiche aux poils tors et gris.—E. de Goncourt,La Fille Elisa.
(Cads’)Monsieur le carreau dans l’œil,derisive epithet applied to a man with an eye-glass;—— bas-du-cul,man with short legs.
Monstre,m.,any words which a musician temporarily adapts to a musical production composed by him.
Monstrico,m.(familiar),ugly person,one with a“knocker face.”
Montage de coup,m.(popular),the act of seeking to deceive by misleading statements.
Mon vieux, entre nous,Te n’coup’ pas du toutDans c’montage de coup;Faut pas m’monter l’coup.Aug. Hardy.
Mon vieux, entre nous,Te n’coup’ pas du toutDans c’montage de coup;Faut pas m’monter l’coup.Aug. Hardy.
Mon vieux, entre nous,Te n’coup’ pas du toutDans c’montage de coup;Faut pas m’monter l’coup.Aug. Hardy.
Mon vieux, entre nous,
Te n’coup’ pas du tout
Dans c’montage de coup;
Faut pas m’monter l’coup.
Aug. Hardy.
Montagnard,m.(popular),additional horse put on to an omnibus going up hill.
Montagne du géant,f.(obsolete),gallows, “scrag, nobbing cheat, or government signpost.”
Montant,m.andadj.(thieves’),breeches, “trucks, hams, sit-upons, or kicks.” (Military)Grand —— tropical,riding breeches;petit ——,drawers. (Familiar)Montant,term which is used to denote anything which excites lust.
Montante,f.(thieves’),ladder. Literallya thing to climb up.
Monte-à-regret(thieves’),abbaye de ——,the guillotine. Formerlythe gallows. This name was given the scaffold because criminals were attended there by one or more priests, and on account of the natural repugnance of a man for this mode of being put out of his misery.Michelrecords the fact, that atSens, one of the streets leading to the market-place, where executions took place, still bore, a few years ago, the name ofMonte-à-regret.Chanoine de ——,one sentenced to death. Termed also “grognon,” orgrumbler.Monter à l’abbaye de ——,to be guillotined, meant formerlyto be hanged, to suffer the extreme penalty of the law on “wry-neck day,” when the criminal before being compelled to put on the “hempen cravat,” would perhaps utter for the edification of the crowd his “tops, or croaks,” that is, his last dying speech. It is curious to note how people of all nations have always striven to disguise the idea of death by the rope by means of some picturesque or grimly comical circumlocution. The popular language is rich in metaphors to describe the act. In the thirteenth century people would express hanging by the term “mettre à la bise;” in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries an executed criminal was spoken of as “vendangeant à l’eschelle,avoir collet rouge,croître d’un demi-pied,faire la longue lettre,tomber du haut mal,” and later on: “Servir de bouchon,faire le saut,faire un saut sur rien,donner un soufflet à une potence,donner le moine par le cou,approcher du ciel à reculons,danser un branle en l’air,avoir la chanterelle au cou,faire le guet à Montfaucon,faire le guet au clair de la lune à la cour des monnoyes.” Also, “monter à la jambe en l’air.” Then a hanged man was “un évêque des champs” (on account of executions taking place in the open country) “qui bénit des pieds,” and hanging itself, “une danse où il n’y a pas de plancher,” which corresponds to the expression, “to dance upon nothing.” The poor wretch was also said tobe “branché,” a summary proceeding performed on the nearest tree, and he was made to “tirer la langue d’un demi-pied.” The poetFrançois Villonbeing in the prison of theChâteletin 1457, under sentence of death for a robbery supposed to have been committed atRueilby himself and some companions, several of whom were hanged, but whose fate he luckily did not share, thus alludes with grim humour to his probable execution:—
Je suis François, dont ce me poise,Né de Paris emprès Ponthoise,Or, d’une corde d’une toise,Saura mon col que mon cul poise.
Je suis François, dont ce me poise,Né de Paris emprès Ponthoise,Or, d’une corde d’une toise,Saura mon col que mon cul poise.
Je suis François, dont ce me poise,Né de Paris emprès Ponthoise,Or, d’une corde d’une toise,Saura mon col que mon cul poise.
Je suis François, dont ce me poise,
Né de Paris emprès Ponthoise,
Or, d’une corde d’une toise,
Saura mon col que mon cul poise.
When Jonathan Wild the Great is about to expiate his numerous crimes, and his career is soon to be terminated at Tyburn, Fielding makes him say: “D—n me, it is only a dance without music; ... a man can die but once.... Zounds! Who’s afraid?” Master Charley Bates, in common with his “pals,” called hanging “scragging”:—
“He’ll come to be scragged, won’t he?” “I don’t know what that means,” replied Oliver. “Something in this way, old feller,” said Charley. As he said it, Master Bates caught up an end of his neckerchief, and holding it erect in the air, dropped his head on his shoulder, and jerked a curious sound through his teeth; thereby intimating, by a lively pantomimic representation, that “scragging” and hanging were one and the same thing.—Dickens,Oliver Twist.
The expression is also to be met with in Lord Lytton’sPaul Clifford:—
“Blow me tight, but that cove is a queer one! and if he does not come to be scragged,” says I, “it will only be because he’ll turn a rusty, and scrag one of his pals!”
Again, the same author puts in the mouth of his hero, Paul Clifford, the accomplished robber, the “Captain Crank,” or chief of a gang of highwaymen, a poetical simile, “to leap from a leafless tree”:—