Nostalgia is never far away.
When somewhat old-fashioned formulas reappear, we are surprised to dream of going back in time and hearing someone again exclaim:
“what a snitch!”
,
“this film is stunning”
, or
“what a good galley!”
.
We miss those deliciously outdated words.
The editorial staff invites you to rediscover them today, thanks to
200 words to bring up to date
, by Sylvie Brunet (First editions, 2020).
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,
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What fife!
We know the expression
“underling”
, a pejorative synonym of
“subordinate person”
. But we forgot the delicious formula
“que fife!”
, replaced today by
“que slab!”
, i.e.
"nothing at all"
. The
“fife”
is a
“little wooden flute”
, which produces a high-pitched sound, informs Robert. But a
"fifrelin"
is not just a player of this instrument. It is also a mushroom, as Sylvie Brunet points out. It is borrowed from the German
der Pfifferling
, either
"girolle"
or
"chanterelle"
, which figuratively designates a
"something worth nothing"
.
This is why we exclaimed, in reaction to an insignificant remark:
“que fife!”
.
Dressed up like a prince
The
"fringues"
, the
"froques"
... Did you know that there is another synonym for these words?
"Always used in the plural, these clothes seem to have wavered since their first job between the positive and negative poles"
, notes Sylvie Brunet.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the word
"of unknown exact origin, designates any object or garment composing the toilet."
We thus go into ecstasies in front
of “beautiful clothes”
.
But from 1611, they became
"things of very little value"
,
"used clothes"
, according to the CNRTL.
The term was probably formed from
"guenipe"
, meaning
"rags, old clothes"
.
You're just a prick!
One would say today a
"bolosse"
.
“Niquedouille”
is its cheerful ancestor, which can also be
called “niguedouille”
.
The latter is a
"simple"
, a
"silly"
, who does not understand anything, and brings out of his hinges the most patient of men.
The word was formed in the 18th century, after Niquedüille, the name of a foolish and ridiculous character, pronounced by a peasant speaking patois, specifies the dictionary.
Niquedouille is also the nickname given by Cyrano de Bergerac to a simpleton in
Le Pédant Joué
(1654).
It's a real
"buttock-mathieu"
A
"claw"
, a
"rat"
... This is what a
"buttock-mathieu"
is , a funny and rare expression, synonymous with
"a miserly person"
.
Why is this first name linked to this unflattering meaning?
The phrase would have been formed from the verb
"to spank"
, and from the name of Saint Mathieu,
"symbolizing the profession of money changer, usurer"
, notes the Treasury of the French language.
It refers to the first work of the evangelist who was, before his conversion, a tax collector.
Saint Matthew thus became the patron saint of tax collectors, accountants and bankers.
And inseparable from this inelegant expression!
What a bloody coward!
Another missing word.
It was not uncommon to hear parents describe their child as
"cossard"
or
"sacred cossarde"
.
“These formulas, which appeared at the very end of the 19th century, flourished in the slang of the trenches of 14-18 to designate lazy people, lazy people”
, explains Sylvie Brunet.
The
"cossard"
is surely derived from
"cossu"
, by change of suffix, because the cossu being rich enough not to work.
Or is it indebted to the
"cossard"
, one of the vulgar names of the buzzard, considered a passive bird?
Sylvie Brunet advances a third hypothesis: our word could also come from a small insect, the
cosson
,
"freeloading beetle that has a habit of settling and feeding under the bark of trees"
.
If the mystery remains intact, the word remains no less tasty!