beauté, n.f., beauty; fineness, comeliness, prettiness, loveliness, elegance, agreeableness, neatness. Tache de —; beauty-spot. Être dans toute sa —; to be in one’s prime, at the height of one’s beauty. Conserver sa —; to preserve, to keep up, one’s beauty. Avoir un — pour; to be sweet upon.
bébé, n.m., baby, baby-doll.
bec, n.m., beak; bill, nib, rostrum; burner; lamp; snout; spout; socket; mouth-piece. Le — de certains poissons; the snout of some fishes. Le — d’une aiguière; the spout of an ewer. Le — d’une plume; the nib of a pen. — de lampe; socket of a lamp. — de gaz; gas-burner. — d’une ancre; bill of an anchor. —-de-lièvre, (—s-—) harelip. Blanc-—, (—s-—s) greenhorn; youngster. —-en-ciseaux, (—s-—) (orni.) cutwater. Coups de —; pecking. Donner des coups de —; to peck. Percer à coups de —; to peck through. Coup de —; wipe, taunt. Tour de —; kiss, buss. Causer — à —; to have a private talk with. Avoir le — bien effilé; to have one’s tongue well hung. Elle n’a que le —; she is all tongue. Avoir le — gelé; to be tongue-tied. Avoir — et ongles; to have teeth and nails. Faire le — à quelqu’un; to give one his cue. Faire le petit —; to mince. Tenir quelqu’un le — dans l’eau; to keep in suspense. S’humecter le —; to wet one’s whistle. Se prendre de — avec quelqu’un; to have a quarrel with any one. Mener quelqu’un par le —; to lead any one by the nose. Passer la plume par le —; to frustrate, to balk. Se laisser passer la plume par le —; to let one’s self be taken in.
bécabunga, or beccabunga, n.m., (bot.) beccabunga, brook-lime.
*bec-à-cuiller, n.m., (—s-—) (orni.) spoonbill.
bécard or beccard, n.m., female salmon.
bécane, n.f., bike, bicycle.
bécarre, n.m. and adj., (mus.) natural.
becasse, n.f., woodcock; idiot. Brider la —; to cozen any one. C’est une —; she is a goose.
bécasseau, n.m., young woodcock; dunlin, sand-piper.