Street French Slang Dictionary & Thesaurus

Although I'm still working on my French fluency, Burke's Street French is still a good buy. Ed McCabe

"Street French Slang Dictionary & Thesaurus" is a superb source for nonstandard terms and expressions that one might encounter in films, television and radio shows, news broadcasts, books, newspapers, magazines, business, and everyday conversations in France and French-speaking countries. Divided into five parts, this reference book includes most of the colorful and popular expressions that one will rarely learn through formal study of French.The "Street French Dictionary" (Part 1) includes almost 200 pages of 2,000 popular French terms, including slang, idioms, colloquialisms, vulgarities, proverbs, special notes, synonyms, antonyms, variations, plus an array of hilarious illustrations. Usage examples are given so the reader can know whether an expression is considered to be "very mild," "mild" or "strong." Each entry contains at least one "example," "translation," and "as spoken" citation. Some etymological information is given in "Notes," particularly where there might be some confusion over usage. As an example, the word "baiser" can have quite different meanings, depending on whether it is used as a noun or as a verb."Popular French Gestures" (Part 2) is very humorous. This section shows that the French are equal to the Italians in the use of nonverbal expressions. "Beats me!" deconstructs the infamous Gallic shrug which is accompanied by the quick "ppp" sound. "English Words Used in French" (Part 3) is a short section of English words that are pronounced with a French accent, e.g., "bestseller" (pronounced: "bestselleur) and "gangster" (pronounced: "ganguestaire"). I think this section should be longer because it can be a temptation to use an English word with a French accent when one is not certain of the equivalent French word. "The Street French Thesaurus" (Part 4) contains general slang synonyms and expressions in alphabetical order. English expressions, such as "How's it going?," are found in boldface type, followed by the French equivalents, such as "Ça va?." There are 54 synonyms for "partir" ("to leave"), 59 synonyms for "ivre" ("drunk"), 95 synonyms for "idiot" ("idiot"), and 41 synonyms for "manger" ("to eat").Marked by a "Danger" sign, "The Street French Thesaurus" (Part 5) presents the raciest references of the book: expletives, obscenities, vulgarities, insults, bodily functions and sounds, sexual slang, and offensive language. As author David Burke maintains, "Slang must be used with discretion" . . . .[but] [t]ry using some in your conversations for extra color!"

This book is very useful. Stays away from the high school french they (the french) never use anymore. New enough and will hopefully stay true for a while. but you know the french, the language will change next week. : )