trou

n. m.

1. 'Dump', dead-end of a place. Il est allé se terrer dans un trou perdu: He's gone to ground in some godforsaken place. (The word does not always have this near-pejorative connotation; the expression un petit trou pas cher, in the lingo of tourists, refers to that inexpensive holiday place we always search for and seldom find.)

2. 'Clink', 'nick', prison. Aller au trou: To 'go down', to do time. (In the film of the 60s, Le Trou, the title gained a deeper meaning in that the plot was all about prisoners trying to burrow their way to freedom.)

3. Etre dans le trou: To be 'six foot under', to be dead.

4. Trou de balle: Arse-hole, anal sphincter. Se dévisser (also: se décarcasser) le trou: To 'try one's darnedest', to nearly break onc's back doing something.

5. Boire comme un trou: To have 'a sloping gullet', to drink like a fish.

6. Boucherun trou: To 'make do with something', to use an expedient for want of something better. On l'a pris au bureau pour boucher un trou: We just took him on in the office as a stop-gap.

7. En boucher un trou à quelqu'un: To leave someone speechless, to astound someone (with an unexpected action, some surprising information, etc.).

8. Faire son trou: To 'make one's way in the world', to elbow oneself into a position of prominence. (There is a certain hint of'fmding one's niche' in this expression.)

9. Ne pas avoir les yeux en face des trous: To have a cock-eyed view of things, to be unable to see things as they are. (The expression often occurs in a context of drunken stupor.)