Talk Dirty French: Beyond Merde: The curses, slang, and street lingo you need to Know when you speak francais

Can't quite come up with the right French quip or four-letter word? With Talk Dirty: French, you'll be able to put your (middle) finger on it. Each entry provides an individual foreign gem, a useful French sentence employing the word, the expression's English counterpart, and its literal translation, comme ?a:

Whether you're a native-speaker, world traveler, or just looking to tell off those brash Parisians, these naughty words and risquŽ slang will surely give your tongue a French twist.

Les couilles: the balls
French Expression: Je l'ai avertie-elle ne m'a pas Žcoute alors maintenant je m'en bats les couilles.
Translation: I warned her-she didn't listen to me so now I'm washing my hands of it.
Literal Translation: I warned her-she didn't listen to me so now I'm flapping my balls of it.

Alexis Munier relocated to Europe in her mid-twenties and began teaching English at world-renowned language schools in Russia, Slovenia, and Italy. Now a writer, English teacher, and translator, Munier still finds time to perfect her French slang and swoon from her Swiss husband's flattery now and again. She lives in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Emmanuel Tichelli hails from a small town in French-speaking Switzerland, a country with four official languages. Growing up in a feisty French/Italian family, he learned the power of persuasive language at a young age. Tichelli argued with his parents in French, he spoke German at school, watched American TV, and hit on every Italian lady he met, in her native tongue. He lives in Lausanne, Switzerland.