fesse-mathieu
common noun
Syllable Decomposition
fesse-mathieuderived from 'face de mathieu'. Before his conversion, Saint Matthew was a publican and likely a usurer. It is said that one could recognize lenders by their faces: hence the expression 'face de saint matthieu' or 'matthieu', to designate a usurer; then, by corruption or rather as an insult, it became 'fesse de mathieu' or 'fesse-mathieu'.
Definition
Synonyms
Plural
fesse-mathieux