Molière uses the word with the signification of grimace:—
Pourquoi toutes ces frimes-là?—Le Médecin malgré Lui.
Frime à la manque, ugly face; face of a one-eyed person, termed “a seven-sided animal,” as, says the Slang Dictionary, he has an inside, outside, left side, right side, foreside, backside, and blind side. Tomber en ——, to meet face to face. (Popular) Une ——, falsehood; trick.
Quelque frime pour se faire donner du sucre! ah! il allait se renseigner, et si elle mentait!—Zola, L’Assommoir.
Frimer (thieves’), to peer into one’s face. Faire ——, to place a prisoner in presence of a prosecutor for purpose of identification. (Popular) Frimer, to make a good appearance; to look well; to pretend. Cet habit frime bien, this coat looks well. Ils friment de s’en aller, they pretend to go away.
Frimousse, f. (thieves’), figure card. (Popular) C’est pour ma ——, that’s for me. Literally physiognomy.
Frimousser (card-sharpers’), to swindle by contriving to turn up the figure cards.
Frimousseur (card-sharpers’), card-sharper, “broadsman.”
Fringue, f. (thieves’), article of clothing, “clobber.” (Popular) Les fringues, players at a game called “l’ours.” These stand upright in a knot at the centre of a circle, face to face, with heads bent and arms passed over one another’s shoulders so as to steady themselves. The business of other players outside the circle is to jump on the backs of those in the knot without being caught by one called “le chien” or “l’ours,” who keeps running about in the circle.
Fringuer (thieves’), se ——, to dress oneself, “to rig oneself out in clobber.”
Fripe, f. (popular), food, “prog.” From the old word fripper, to eat; cooking of food; expense; share in the reckoning, or “shot;” —— sauce, cook, or “dripping.” Faire la ——, to cook.
Fripier, m. (popular and thieves’), cook, or “dripping;” master of an eating-house, of a “carnish ken.”
Fripouille, f. (familiar), rogue; scamp. From fripe, rag. Tout ce monde là c’est de la ——, these people are a bad lot.
Friques, f. pl. (thieves’), rags.
Friquet, m. (thieves’), spy in the employ of the police, “nark,” or “nose.”
Frire un rigolo (thieves’), to pick the pockets of a person while embracing him, under a pretence of mistaken identity.
Frischti, m. (military), dainty food; stew.
Frisé, m. (popular), Jew, “sheney,” or “mouchey.” Termed also “youtre, pied-plat, guinal.”
Frisque, m. (popular), cold.
Le frisque du matin, qui ravigote le sang, qui cingle la vie—Richepin, Le Pavé.
Frissante, f. adj. (sailors’), with gentle ripples.
Frites, f. pl. (popular), for pommes de terre frites, fried potatoes. Termed “greasers” at the R. M. Academy.
Friturer (popular), to cook.
Frivoliste, m. (literary), light writer; contributor, for instance, to a journal of fashion.
Froisseux, adj. (popular), traitor, “cat-in-the-pan;” slanderer. From froisser, to hurt one’s feelings.
Frollant, m. (thieves’), slanderer; traitor, one who “turns snitch.”
Froller (thieves’), sur la balle, to slander one. From the old word frôler, to thrash, to injure.
Fromgibe, m. (popular), cheese.
Front, m. (popular), avoir le —— dans le cou, to be bald, to be “stag-faced.”
Froteska, f. (popular), thrashing, “tanning,” or “hiding.” See Voie.
Frotin, m. (popular), billiards, or “spoof.” Coup de ——, game of billiards. Flancher au ——, to play billiards.
Frotte, f. (popular), itch.
Frottée, f. (familiar and popular), thrashing, or “licking.” See Voie.
Cinq ou six matelots de l’Albatros furent attaqués par une dizaine de marins du Mary-Ann et reçurent une des plus vénérables frottées dont on eût ouï parler sur la côte du Pacifique.—J. Claretie.
Frotter (gamesters’), se —— au bonheur de quelqu’un. The expression is explained by the following quotation:—
Le joueur est superstitieux, il croit au fétiche. Un bossu gagne-t-il, on voit des pontes acharnés se grouper autour de lui pour lui toucher sa bosse et se frotter à son bonheur. A Vichy, les joueurs sont munis de pattes de lapin pour toucher délicatement le dos des heureux du tapis vert.—Mémoires de Monsieur Claude.
Froufrou, m. (thieves’), master-key.
Frousse, f. (popular and thieves’), diarrhœa; fear.
Fructidoriser (familiar), to suppress one’s political adversaries by violent means, such as transportation wholesale. An allusion to the 18th Fructidor or 4th September, 1797.
Fruges, f. pl. (popular), more or less lawful profits on sales by shopmen. English railway ticket-clerks give the name of “fluff” to profits accruing from short change given by them.
Frusque, f. (popular), coat, “Benjamin.”
Frusques, f. pl. (general), clothing, “toggery,” or “clobber;” —— boulinées, clothes in tatters.
On allait ... choisir ses frusques chez Milon, qui avait des costumes moins brillants.—E. Monteil.
Frusquiner (popular), se ——, to dress, “to rig” oneself out.
Frusquineur, m. (popular), tailor, “snip, steel-bar driver, cabbage contractor, or button catcher.”
Frusquins, m. pl. (popular), clothes, or “toggery.”
Fuir (popular), laisser —— son tonneau, to die. For synonyms see Pipe.
Fumé, adj. (familiar and popular), to be in an awful fix, past praying for, “a gone coon.” With regard to the English slang equivalent, the Slang Dictionary says: “This expression is said to have originated in the first American War with a spy who dressed himself in a racoon skin, and ensconced himself in a tree. An English soldier, taking him for a veritable coon, levelled his piece at him, upon which he exclaimed, ‘Don’t shoot, I’ll come down of myself; I know I’m a gone coon.’ The Yankees say the Britisher was so ‘flummuxed’ that he flung down his musket and ‘made tracks’ for home.” The phrase is pretty general in England. (There is one difficulty about this story—how big was the man who dressed himself in a racoon skin?)
Fumer (popular), to snore, “to drive one’s pigs to market;” —— sans pipe et sans tabac, to be “riled;” to fume. Avoir fumé dans une pipe neuve, to feel unwell in consequence of prolonged potations.
Fumerie, f. (popular), smoking, “blowing a cloud.”
Fumeron, m. (popular), hypocrite, “mawworm.”
Fumerons, m. pl. (popular), legs, “pegs.”
Fumiste, m. (familiar), practical joker; humbug. Farce de ——, practical joke. For quotation see Farce. (Polytechnic School) Etre en ——, to be in civilian’s clothes, “in mufti.”
Fuseaux, m. pl. (popular), legs, or “pins.” Jouer des ——, to run, “to leg it.” See Patatrot.
Il juge qu’il est temps de jouer des fuseaux, mais au moment où il se dispose à gagner plus au pied qu’à la toise ... le garçon le saisit à la gorge.—Vidocq.
Fusée, f. (popular), lâcher une ——, to be sick, “to shoot the cat.”
Fuser (popular), to ease oneself See Mouscailler.
Fusil, m. (popular), stomach; —— à deux coups, trousers; —— de toile, wallet. Aller à la chasse avec un —— de toile, to beg. Colle-toi ça dans le ——, eat or drink that; put that in your “bread-basket.” Ecarter du ——, to spit involuntarily when talking. Se rincer, se gargariser le ——, to drink, “to swig.” See Rincer. Changer son —— d’épaule, to change one’s political opinions, to turn one’s coat. Repousser du ——, to have an offensive breath.
Fusilier (military), to spend money. Literally faire partir ses balles, the last word having the double signification of bullets, francs; —— ses invités, to give one’s guests a bad dinner; —— le pavé, to use one’s fingers as a pocket-handkerchief; —— le plancher, to set off at a run; —— son pèse, to spend one’s money; (thieves’) —— le fade, to give one’s share of booty; to make one “stand in.”
Fusilleur, m. See Bande noire.
Futaille, f. (thieves’), vieille ——, old woman.