Argot and Slang. Albert Barrere

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      Boum! a high-sounding, ringing word bawled out in a grave key by café waiters in order to emphasize their call for coffee to the attendant whose special duty it is to pour it out. Versez à l’as! Boum! This peculiar call was brought into fashion by a waiter of the Café de la Rotonde at the Palais Royal, whose stentorian voice made the fortune of the establishment.

      Bouquet, m. (cads’), gift, present.

      Bouquine, f., beard grown on the chin, or “goatee.”

      Bourbe, f. (popular), the hospital of “la Maternité.”

      Bourbon (popular), nose, “boko.” From nez à la Bourbon, the members of that dynasty being distinguished by prominent thick noses verging on the aquiline.

      Bourdon, m. (thieves’), prostitute, “bunter;” (printers’) words left out by mistake in composing.

      Bourdonniste, m. (printers’), one in the habit of making bourdons (which see).

      Bourgeois, m. (thieves’), for bourg, a large village. Literally man of the middle class. The peasants give this appellation to the townspeople; a coachman to his “fare;” workmen and servants to their employer; workpeople to the master of a house; soldiers to civilians; artists and literary men use it contemptuously to denote a man with matter-of-fact, unartistic tastes, also a man outside their profession; the anarchists apply the epithet to one who does not share their views. (Popular) Mon——, my husband, “my old man.” Eh! dites donc——, I say, governor. (Officers’) Se mettre en——, to dress in plain clothes, in “mufti.” (Familiar) C’est bien——, it is vulgar, devoid of taste.

      Bourgeoisade, f., anything, whether it be deed or thought, which savours of the bourgeois’ ways; a vulgar platitude. The bourgeois, in the disparaging sense of the term of course, is a man of a singularly matter-of-fact, selfish disposition, and one incapable of being moved by higher motives than those of personal interest. His doings, his mode of life, all his surroundings bear the stamp of an unrefined idiosyncrasy. Though a staunch Conservative at heart, he is fond of indulging in a timid, mild opposition to Government, yet he even goes so far sometimes as to send to Parliament men whose views are at variance with his own, merely to give himself the pleasure of “teaching a lesson” to the “powers that be.” A man of Voltairian tendencies, yet he allows his wife and daughters to approach the perilous secrecy and the allurements of the confessional. When he happens to be a Republican, he rants furiously about equality, yet he protests that it is a shocking state of affairs which permits of his only son and spoilt child being made to serve in the ranks by the side of the workman or clodhopper. By no means a fire-eater, he is withal a bloodthirsty mortal and a loud-tongued Chauvinist, but as he has the greatest respect for the integrity of his person, and entertains a perfect horror of blows, he likes to see others carry out for him his pugnacious aspirations in a practical way.

      Bourgeoise, f. (popular), the mistress of a house or establishment. Ma——, my wife, “my old woman.”

      Bourgeron, m. (popular), small glass of brandy; (soldiers’) a civilian. Properly a kind of short smock-frock.

      Bourguignon (popular), the sun.

      Bourlingue, m. (popular), dismissal, “the sack.”

      Bourlinguer, to dismiss; to get on with difficulty in life. From a naval term.

      Bourlingueur, m. (popular), master, “boss;” foreman.

      Bourrasque, f. (thieves’), raid by the police.

      Bourreau des crânes, m. (military), bully, fire-eater.

      Bourre-boyaux, m. (popular), eating-house, “grubbing crib.”

      Bourre-coquins, m. pl. (popular), beans. Beans form the staple food of convicts.

      Bourre-de-soie, f. (cads’), kept girl, “poll.”

      Bourrée, f. (popular), hustling, “hunch.”

      Bourrer (familiar), en—— une, to smoke a pipe, “to blow a cloud.”

      Bourreur, m. (thieves’), de pègres, penal code; (printers’) —— de lignes, compositor of the body part of a composition, a task generally entrusted to unskilled compositors, unable to deal with more intricate work.

      Bourriche, f. (popular), blockhead, “cabbage-head.” Properly hamper.

      Bourrichon, m. (popular), head. See Tronche. Se monter, or se charpenter le——, to entertain strong illusions, to be too sanguine.

      Bourricot (popular), c’est——, that comes to the same thing; it is all the same to me.

      Bourrier, m. (popular), dirt, dung.

      Bourrique, f. (popular), tourner en——, to become stupid, or crazy. Faire tourner quelqu’un en——, to make one crazy by dint of badgering or angering. Cet enfant est toujours à me tourmenter, il me fera tourner en——, this naughty child will drive me mad. (Thieves’) Bourrique, informer, “nark;” also police officer.

      Bourrique à Robespierre (popular), comme la——, corresponds to the simile like blazes. Saoul comme la——, awfully drunk.

      Bourser (popular), se——, to go to bed, to get into the “doss.”

      Boursicoter (familiar), to speculate in a small way on the stocks.

      Boursicoteur, f., boursicotier, m. (familiar), speculator in a small way.

      Boursicotiérisme, m. (familiar), occupation of those who speculate on ’Change.

      Boursillonner (popular), to “club” for expenses by each contributing a small sum.

      Bouscaille, f. (thieves’), mud.

      Bouscailleur, street-sweeper, scavenger.

      Bouse, f. (popular), de vache, spinach.

      Bousiller (popular), to work rapidly but carelessly and clumsily.

      Bousilleur (popular), careless, clumsy workman.

      Bousilleuse (popular), woman who is careless of her belongings, who is the reverse of thrifty.

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