J’ai jamais massé qu’à l’ver l’coude.
Richepin.
Masseur, m. (popular), active workman.
Mastar au gras-double, f. (thieves’), faire la ——, or la faire au mastar, to steal lead off roofs, “to fly the blue pigeon.”
Mastaré, adj. (thieves’), leaden.
Mastaroufleur, m. (thieves’), one who steals lead, a “bluey cracker.”
Mastic, m. (freemasons’), bread or meat; (popular) deceit. Péter sur le ——, to forsake work. (Thieves’) Mastic, man, or “cove;” (printers’) long, entangled speech; (theatrical) painting and otherwise making-up one’s face. Faire son ——, to paint one’s face, “to stick slap on.”
C’est l’ensemble de ces travaux de badigeon qui constitue le mastic. Un mastic consciencieux exige près d’une heure de peine.—P. Mahalin.
[Mastiquer] (popular), to cobble; (familiar and popular) to eat, “to grub,” “to yam.” It seems this latter term is connected with the word yam, the English name of the large edible tuber Dioscorea, a corruption of the name used in the West Indies at the time of the discovery, iniama or inhame. With regard to the expression the Slang Dictionary says:—“This word is used by the lowest class all over the world; by the Wapping sailor, West Indian negro, or Chinese coolie. When the fort called the ‘Dutch Folly,’ near Canton, was in course of erection by the Hollanders, under the pretence of being intended for an hospital, the Chinese observed a box containing muskets among the alleged hospital stores. ‘Hy-aw!’ exclaimed John Chinaman, ‘how can sick man yam gun?’ The Dutch were surprised and massacred the same night.” The synonyms for the term to eat, in the various kinds of French slang, are the following: “Tortiller du bec, becqueter, béquiller, chiquer, bouffer, boulotter, taper sur les vivres, pitancher, passer à la tortore, tortorer, se l’envoyer, casser la croustille, briffer, brouter, se caler, se calfater le bec, mettre de l’huile dans la lampe, se coller quelque chose dans le fanal, dans le fusil, or dans le tube, chamailler des dents, jouer des badigoinces, jouer des dominos, déchirer la cartouche, gobichonner, engouler, engueuler, friturer, gonfler, morfiaillier, cacher, se mettre quelque chose dans le cadavre, se lester la cale, se graisser les balots, se caresser l’Angoulême, friper, effacer, travailler pour M. Domange, clapoter, débrider la margoulette, croustiller, charger pour la Guadeloupe, travailler pour Jules, se faire le jabot, jouer des osanores.”
Mastiqueur, m. (popular), cobbler.