parleyvoo

/ (ˌpɑːlɪˈvuː) informal /

verb(intr)

to speak French

noun

the French language
a Frenchman

Origin of parleyvoo

C20: jocular respelling of parlez-vous (français) ? do you speak (French)?

Words Nearby parleyvoo

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use parleyvoo in a sentence

I can't parleyvoo with him, but he's an honest rogue for a Frenchman, and 'twas he brought off my young Lord.
The Chaplet of Pearls | Charlotte M. Yonge
And parleyvoo Pickens, the wrong reverend, writes out a marriage certificate, and farmer and farmeress sign it as witnesses.
The Gentle Grafter | O. Henry
Aw dooant parleyvoo, awm throo Yorksher; cannot yo spaik plain English?
Seets I' Paris | John Hartley
Aw dooant care whether it's poisin' or parleyvoo-in', awl bet his heead comes off schews ha!
Seets I' Paris | John Hartley

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