Il est complètement perché lui !

This expression came up while I was talking to an American friend and she was telling me about a misunderstanding she had with a French friend of hers. So she basically told me that she told something to the guy and he totally misinterpreted her words. So I told her : “Il est perché celui-là!”

“Perché” (perched) is a term which refers to the use of drugs. It’s actually means that someone took drugs and never came down from the high a bit like Ozzy Osbourn lol.

Now this word can also mean that someone is really stoned, crazy or even sketchy.

Here are some similar terms that we use :

“Paumé” describes someone who doesn’t have any ambition or any education whatsoever aka a ”loser” or a “slacker”. But it can also mean that someone doesn’t know where they are. For example “Tu es paumé?” (Are you lost?).

“Barré”, “givré “ or ”timbré”: for example “Ce mec est complètement barré/givré/timbré” (This guy is totally crazy). It basically describes a person whose ideas or behavior are either strange or twisted.

"se barrer" (= to leave). Ex: Il s'est barré = He left.

Je suis dans la galère !

This word is one of the few that is used all the time in French.

It can be considered a filler!

The first meaning of the word “la galère” is a galley (on a ship). It’s not a very common word in English, I know!

In French the word evokes a rather vivid image. We can picture some sailors or slaves rowing with difficulty in the lower level (the hold) of a ship. The air down there is really muggy, unhealthy and people are really struggling to make the ship move.

So In French when you say “c’est la galère”, it means that you are either in big trouble or having a hard time doing something.

You can also use the verb such as “Je galère pour trouver cet endroit “ (I am having a hard time finding the place).

You can also say “ce mec il est galère!” (this dude is trouble!)

Nowadays there is a new slang connotation to this word that is to be bored as hell, but you have to bear in mind that this expression might not be common all over France.

For instance: « Qu’est-ce que tu fais? Ben moi je galère ! » (What are you doing/ what are you up to ? I am hanging around).

Arrête les frais !

That is usually what you say to people who are in a predicament that they’re having trouble getting out of. It’s like they have a moral or physical addiction to trouble.

As a friend, you would advise them to stop what they are doing straight away. Basically, they have to stop cold turkey.

For example:

Your friend is going out with someone but that person is being a jerk.

You’re friend has been agonizing over the situation for weeks. And the best advice you can give is to let it go.

“Arrête les frais, tu te fais avoir!”

Je suis bourré!

When you go out with friends and you are having a “few” drinks, and the world around you is starting to spin, you want to be able to say that you have passed the state of tipsy (= pompette) and that now you are properly drunk. I’m just giving you some slang and some expressions to say when you are drunk. And watch out there are a lot!!!

The traditional!

raide = hammered

pété = smashed

beurré, bourré, fait = wasted

défoncé, pulvérisé, anéanti = annihilated

raide = trashed

explosé = blasted

eméché = obliterated

carpette, fracassé, pinté, cuité, rond, défracté, pompette, enfraqué, défait, détruit, etc.

And some expressions :

Je me traîne. (I am dragging myself.)

Je suis cuit. (I am cooked.)

Je rame. (I am rowing, like in a boat.)

Je suis sec. (I am dry.)

J’ai la tête en vrac. (My head is upside down.)

Je suis en vrac. (I am in a jumble.)

Je suis chiffon. (I am a rag.)

Je suis fait. (I am done.)

Je suis mort. (I am dead.)

Je suis envoyé. (I am sent.)

Je suis dans le vague. (I am in space.)

Je suis gris. (I am gray.)

Je me suis mis minable. (I made myself miserable.)

Je me suis mis la misère. (I put myself into misery.)

Je me la suis collé. (I brought it onto myself.)

Je m'en suis collé une belle. (“I stuck a good one on myself.”)

Je suis plein. (I am loaded.)

Je me suis foutu une bonne raclée. (“I slapped myself very well.”)

Je m’en suis envoyé/mis plein la figure.Je me suis mis la mine(I got shit-faced.)

Je suis jaune. (“I am yellow.” This refers to the fact that in the early stages of cirrhosis, when the liver is saturated with alcohol, you start to turn yellow.)

J'ai une armée de bikers dans le crâne. (I have an army of bikers in my head.)

J’ai le 14 juillet dans mon crâne. (I have the 14th of July in my head.)

Ma graduation est très visible. (My degradation is visible.)

C'est la fête de la bière dans mon verre. (It’s Oktober Fest in my glass.)

J’ai les amygdales qui baignent. (My tonsils are swimming.) (When you have drunk too much and you are feeling full.)

Je suis terminé. (I am terminated.)

J'ai la boite crânienne abîmée. (My skull is damaged.)

Y’a comme un attentat dans ma tête. (there is like a bombing in my head.)

Y’a comme un arrière goût jusque sous mes paupières. ( There is like an after taste up to my eyelids.)

Putain il a morflé. (F @*% he got banged up.)

Je suis fracassé. ( I am smashed.)

J'ai le foie monté a l'envers. (I have my liver upside down.)

J'ai les cheveux qui poussent à l'envers. (My hair is growing backwards)

Dans le jus!

Since I moved to London my life has become crazy. Always running to catch a train, going out to meet up with friends, working etc. In short extremely busy. So…

“je suis dans le jus!!!!!!”

It basically means: to be in trouble, to be overloaded or to be unable to cope with your work. But strangely enough “avoir du jus” means to have a lot of energy. Interesting, isn’t it?

We also have to keep in mind that “jus“aka “juice”, is what you get when you squeeze fruit! Duhhhhh (Tell me something I don’t know, right!) but that also echoes to the other French expression “être pressé” (to be in a hurry).

In the restaurant business -I can relate to this since I used to be a waiter when I was a student- you will hear that saying a lot. So it won’t be surprising to see a cook who has a bunch of plates waiting to be picked up, comes out of the kitchen to yell:

"Magnez-vous le cul les serveurs ou vous allez être dans le jus" (Waiters, move your asses or you’re gonna be swamped!)

In slang, “jus” also means electricity (like "juice" in a battery), so in French “courant”. So sometimes instead of saying “tiens-moi au courant” (keep in touch) you can also say …

“tiens-moi au jus!”

Donc tout le monde est au jus maintenant?