{"id":792,"date":"2010-06-01T06:54:18","date_gmt":"2010-06-01T06:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=792"},"modified":"2017-10-18T16:03:10","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T14:03:10","slug":"%e2%80%9cd-comme%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9d-b-a-ba-de-l%e2%80%99argot-the-abc-of-french-slang-%e2%80%98d%e2%80%99","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/%e2%80%9cd-comme%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9d-b-a-ba-de-l%e2%80%99argot-the-abc-of-french-slang-%e2%80%98d%e2%80%99\/","title":{"rendered":"French Slang Expressions with the Letter D"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Last time, we finished covering\u00a0the letter ‘C’<\/a>, learning and exploring\u00a0words and expressions\u00a0that you most likely wouldn’t\u00a0encounter in your usual\u00a0French classroom, but\u00a0knowing them\u00a0would\u00a0definitely\u00a0come in very handy once you’re in France or\u00a0around French speakers.<\/p>\n

But before we start, here’s a curious\u00a0piece of “antiquit\u00e9<\/em>” for you\u00a0(extracted not from “le zoo des locutions<\/a><\/em>“, but rather from what we may call\u00a0“le mus\u00e9e<\/span> des locutions<\/em>“…)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mBqxp1FWsy4<\/a><\/div>\n
Aujourd’hui, c’est la lettre ‘D’.
\nAllons-y !<\/em><\/div>\n
* * *<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n

D\u00a0comme\u2026 (D, as in\u2026)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

* Dab:
\n<\/strong><\/span>When you say “dab”,\u00a0you can either talk about your father, or about your boss (or maybe both, if it’s your dad who “calls the shots” at home.)
\nIt should be\u00a0easy for you\u00a0to remember this word, since “dab” is spelled almost like “dad.”
\nA synonym of dab is “daron<\/strong>“, also meaning “father.”
\nAttention!<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Be sure not to\u00a0confuse “dab<\/em>” with the\u00a0same-sounding “‘d’hab<\/em>“, which is short for “d’habitude<\/em>“, as in “comme d’hab<\/em>” (meaning “as usual”.) So you’d say for example:\u00a0“les affaires, comme d’hab<\/em>“, meaning “business as usual.<\/em>”<\/p>\n

* Dalle:<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
\nIt may mean literally “flagstone” or a\u00a0“slab” in normal fran\u00e7ais<\/em>, but in slang, to say “avoir la dalle<\/em>” means to be very hungry<\/strong>, starving, ravenous!
\nUsually, you’d say: “je cr\u00e8ve\u00a0la dalle !<\/em>” (“I’m\u00a0starving to death!”)
\nBut if you say: “J’ai la dalle en pente<\/strong><\/em>“,<\/em> that would\u00a0mean: “I’m thirsty.”
\n<\/em>Attention!<\/span>\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong>The word “dalle” can come in an expression, “que dalle<\/em><\/strong>“, meaning “zilch”, as in “nothing at all.” For example: “Je pige que\u00a0dalle!<\/em>” means “I don’t understand zilch!”<\/p>\n

* Se D\u00e9gonfler:<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
\nTo become “deflated”,\u00a0but means in argot “<\/em>to become scared”, to “chicken out”, to become a “coward.” An equivalent (informal)\u00a0expression is “avoir la frousse<\/em>“<\/strong>, “avoir la trouille<\/em><\/strong>“,\u00a0or “avoir froid aux yeux<\/em><\/strong>“: Literally to get “cold in the eyes”, or “to get\u00a0cold eyes”, which of course should remind us of the expression\u00a0“getting cold feet” in English.<\/p>\n

* D\u00e9gotter:<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
\nA verb\u00a0which means “to find” something. Example: <\/strong>“O\u00f9 est-ce que t’es all\u00e9 d\u00e9gotter \u00e7a?<\/em>” (“Where did you get that from?”) A synonym verb is “d\u00e9nicher<\/strong>.<\/em>”
\nThis one\u00a0video is for notre amie new-yorkaise<\/em>, Jennie: It’s about le<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>gendarme de Saint-Tropez<\/strong> <\/em>(Louis de Fuines<\/strong>)<\/a> who is this time\u00a0in New York, very nostalgique about French cuisine, and\u00a0trying to “d\u00e9gotter\/d\u00e9nicher<\/em>” (both verbs are actually used in this scene, if you pay close attention)… “de la viande non-cellophan\u00e9e<\/em>“, or as they actually called it here\u00a0in argot<\/em>, “de la vraie barbaque !”\u00a0<\/em>(real meat!)<\/p>\n