Assister (thieves’), to bring victuals to a prisoner from outside.
Associée, f. (printers’), mon ——, my wife, my “old woman.”
Assommoir, m. (familiar), name of a wine-shop at Belleville, and which is now common to all low drinking-shops. From assommer, to knock over the head.
Astec, m. (familiar), stunted and weakly person, or “barber’s cat;” (literary) a weak, despicable adversary. An allusion to the Mexican dwarfs.
Astic, m. (thieves’), steel, sword, or “poker” (from the German stich); (soldiers’) a mixture of pipe-clay for the furbishing of the brass fixtures of equipment. Aller à l’——, to clean one’s equipment.
Asticot, m. (popular), vermicelli; mistress of a bully or thief, “mollisher;” —— de cercueil, glass of beer (a play on the words “ver” and “bière,” asticot being a flesh-worm).
Astiquage or astique, m. (military), cleaning the equipments.
Astiquer (popular), to beat, or “to towel;” to tease. Literally to clean, to furbish. S’——, to have angry words, as a prelude to a set to; to fight. Literally to make oneself neat, or “smug.”
As-tu fini, or as-tu fini tes manières! words implying that a person’s endeavours to convince or to deceive another have failed. The expression corresponds in some degree to “Walker!” “No go!” “What next?”
A table (thieves’), se mettre ——, or, casser du sucre, to confess a crime.