plumer

[alan gould]

this means to pluck as in to pluck a chicken.  to take advantage of someone is also "plumer."  i guess it's slang.  what would b the standard way to state it?  i would imagine "exploiter"  

[Chantal Savignat]

Yes the second meaning is slang.

It means "steal" with an idea of swindle ans the victim can't say anything.

Je l'ai plumé = I stole all he had and he didn't say anything.

[alan gould]

i'm going to start teaching english to french people in israel.  for now, i'm not learning slang cuz i need to know the standard word.  as i start speaking french to french people, i will ask them to avoid slang.  but if the slang word is so widely used, then i'll try to learn that as well.  in this case, i will probably just say "exploiter" unless i happen to remember "plumer."  

[Chantal Savignat]

so.... "escroquer" and"dépouiller"  will be better  than "exploiter" for "plumer".

Exploiter is more for someone who used someone else without bad conscience. If a worker who works hard and makes a excellent job  is paid one euro per hour = "il est exploité" ou "son employeur l'exploite."

And, there is another idea in "plumer". It's an idéa of "lightness". So when we use "plumer", it could be  for an important fraud, but using "plumer" seems to say that it's not dramatic. it's used for a gambleur for exemple, or  a poker's player who lost all his money in a bad game.

This idea is not in "exploiter". "Exploiter quelqu'un" is hard, immoral.

[alan gould]

Subject: Re: Chantal Savignat replied to your discussion "plumer" on French Language

so i checked exploiter and like the english exploit, it means taking advantage but that could b just paying poorly or providing poor work conditions, but not being dishonest.  i didn't check the 2nd word u gave me, but i checked arnaquer and it's the same as escroquer.  they both involve being dishonest financially.  the slang would b "to rip someone off"  "i got ripped off" "what a rip off!"  the dictionary said swindle but the last time i wanted to express the idea, i used "fleeced" or "conned."  swindle would sound old-fashioned -- i bet a newspaper wouldn't use it.

i think escroquer and arnaquer are what's used for bank fraud.