{"id":2060,"date":"2010-10-29T01:11:01","date_gmt":"2010-10-29T01:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=2060"},"modified":"2017-10-18T12:11:00","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T10:11:00","slug":"must-know-french-slang-laisse-beton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/must-know-french-slang-laisse-beton\/","title":{"rendered":"Must-Know French Slang: Laisse B\u00e9ton"},"content":{"rendered":"
Oyez, oyez !<\/em> We’re now\u00a0officiellement<\/em> about to cover\u00a0la\u00a0premi\u00e8re moiti\u00e9 <\/em>(the first\u00a0half) of the alphabet\u00a0in our featured “B.A.-BA de l’argot<\/em><\/strong>” (“the ABC of French Slang”), and in order\u00a0to properly celebrate\u00a0this one\u00a0happy occasion, we shall concentrate today on one\u00a0and only\u00a0expression which, in many funny\u00a0ways, epitomizes French Slang: “LAISSE B\u00c9TON !<\/span><\/strong>“<\/em><\/div>\n

\n<\/em>This is a “concrete” (uhm)\u00a0example of a\u00a0“b\u00e9tonni\u00e8re<\/em> <\/strong>qu’on a\u00a0laiss\u00e9 b\u00e9ton”…\u00a0<\/em>– Roughly translated:\u00a0A concrete mixer which was\u00a0“dropped like it’s hot.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>If you still\u00a0don’t get it, then, well, laisse b\u00e9ton… <\/em>Or just read the section below!<\/strong><\/div>\n

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\u201cL Comme\u2026\u201d<\/em> (\u201cL as in\u2026\u201d):<\/strong><\/p>\n

* L\u00a0 A\u00a0 I\u00a0 S\u00a0 S\u00a0 E
\nB\u00a0\u00a0 \u00c9\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>T\u00a0 \u00a0O\u00a0 \u00a0N\u00a0\u00a0 ! :<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Even if you knew the meaning of\u00a0each one of these\u00a0two words separately, it’d be impossible for you to understand what the overall expression means, unless you’re already acquainted with the French concept\u00a0of\u00a0verlan<\/strong> !<\/em><\/p>\n

Like we saw\u00a0in previous posts of the B.A.-BA<\/strong><\/em>, the French word “verlan” <\/em>means backslang<\/strong>. So, in this case, “b\u00e9ton<\/strong><\/em>” -which otherwise would literally mean “concrete<\/strong>” (the construction material, that is)- is in fact a\u00a0backslang for the verb “tomber<\/em><\/strong>“, or “to fall” in English.<\/p>\n