Dictionary

French safe en · NOUN

Etymology

From French + safe. Compare earlier French letter. Attested from the mid 19th century.

Meanings

1. (colloquial, euphemistic) A condom.
   • We had this daily tournament, to see who could snag, the most French safes with his stick. A French safe is a condom, don’t ask me where the name comes from. 2002, Wes Pipe, Memories of Mines, page 1:
   • The druggist examined the ets and the cuis in it, and felt sure he knew just what the doctor wanted — proceeded to fill the order, and a French safe was nicely folded up and put in a suitable box labelled “use as directed” and handed to the young lady 1877, “What a Latin prescription did”, in Cincinnati Lancet & Observer, volume 20, page 713:
   • Ashes, ashes. A used French safe / is blown across the city sidewalk. 1982, David Helwig, The Rain Falls Like Rain, page 183:

Forms