ssomon Posted November 25, 2023 Share Posted November 25, 2023 (edited) In a discussion about the names of nearby, now defunct, factories, I came across this saying or pun, which I don't understand. "les usines prenaient le nom d'un lieudit, d'un hameau, d'un moulin ou d'une métairie ...... mais Cayenne reste une énigme. Cazals risque une hypothèse qui viendrait de l'argot. «La boîte, c'est l'atelier quand on ne l'appelle pas simplement Cayenne»." https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2018/09/20/2872083-la-route-des-usines-monde-industriel-a-redecouvrir.html Edited November 25, 2023 by ssomon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotherbanana Posted November 25, 2023 Share Posted November 25, 2023 La boite is a slang word for workplace. Cayenne was a very distant colony in South America where there were some penal institutions that were particularly brutal, see the book and film Papillion. So, it could simply refer to a distance place as in other cases and/or refer to the factory as a prison or bagne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssomon Posted November 25, 2023 Author Share Posted November 25, 2023 Thanks, AB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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