Avec: Spirits. Spirits being forbidden for the troops at the front in the War, their purchase was always difficult. The usual way of getting over the difficulty was by diplomacy. One would ask in an estaminet for "Cafè Avec," stress being put on the "Avec". The customer's meaning was obvious and liquor was forthcoming. As a colloquialism among ourselves in this way the word "avec" used by itself, came to stand as a general term for alcohol in due course.[1]
References / notes
- ↑ Edward Fraser and John Gibbons (1925). Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases. Routledge, London p.11.
The above term is listed in our Compendium of the Great War.
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