France· hard· informal
à la one again
“in the 'one again' manner”
Meaning
in a rushed, slapdash way
Explanation
Used for anything thrown together fast and a bit carelessly, whether it's a haircut, a meal or a DIY job.
Example
Il a repeint la clôture à la one again, ça se voit direct.
He repainted the fence in a rushed, slapdash way, you can tell straight away.
Origin
Marseille slang from the 1950s to 1970s, first used for haircuts styled to imitate slicked-back American looks, ironically, since the results were usually the opposite of neat. It mashes up French 'à la' with the English words 'one' and 'again', despite having nothing to do with either word's real meaning.
Where
Marseille and Provence
Source
More like this
- avoir les deux yeux dans le même trouTo be too worn out to concentrate
- faire les quatre cents coupsTo raise hell
- chercher midi à quatorze heuresto make a simple thing unnecessarily complicated
- faire d’une pierre deux coupsTo achieve two things with a single action
- faire les cent pasto pace back and forth
- mouton à cinq pattesSomething almost impossible to find