Maigret voyage

Rereading this story this morning, I came across an amusing incident involving the use of the phrase 'vingt-deux' as street slang for the flics. Curious as to how this might have come to be, a bit of digging.

Started off rather lazily by asking Gemini. Whose value add was the idea that the phrase came from the French penal code, in particular from Article No.22.

It seems that in 1957, the Napoleonic code of 1810 was still the foundation of the criminal law, if no longer the letter. Article No.22 is about those convicted of serious crimes having to stand in a version of the pillory for an hour. So not inconsistent with the Gemini story, but not supporting it either.

While a bit further up it gets a bit more gruesome.

Not really satisfied with this, I take a look at Collins-Robert, my copy of which dates from 1996, although the first edition started life back in 1978. Vingt-deux is in there, both as 'watch out' generally and 'watch out, its the fuzz' in particular, but no indication of origins.

Absent from 'Le Petit Littré', although I am reminded that it used to be a rule in French plays that the action portrayed should not go on for more than 24 hours. A rule possibly derived from ancient Greece, but I have not followed that one up.

Absent from OED, although they do allow vingt-et-un on account of various popular card games like pontoon. But not vingt-deux.

I then trying asking Google, who does not seem to be a twin of Gemini and he comes up with a different, rather more specific story.

A story taken from the snap above. And there the trail goes cold, or at least it goes cold for me. So I have learned that it certainly was a slang term in Simenon's time, probably a bit dated now. And that it might have started life in a Parisian linotype shop. 

One of a number of stories which one might dig up - or invent. One or more of which might have contributed to the fixing of the phrase in street slang. I think psycho-analysts might call a process of this sort over-determination. Inventing more suitable stories is left as an exercise for the reader - or perhaps the large language models, of which Gemini is an example.

Noting that in this case, Gemini abandons his earlier story and agrees with my new story from his colleague.

So not much further forward.

And while we are on things French, I have to record the sad demise of Soif of Battersea Rise following the demise of Terroirs of William IV Street around 2017. Their website is still there, but if you try and make a booking, OpenTable put you right. See reference 4.

My last visit was noticed at reference 5, back in June, but when I cycled past last week, I had thought they looked open. I had thought of calling in, so perhaps just as well I made other arrangements, to be reported on in due course.

PS: fairly fresh out of my email. Not good at all. As an aside, one does wonder how long Bullingdons are going to last. They suit me well, but I dare say they run at a loss and there an awful lot of other hire bikes out there these days.

References

Reference 1: Maigret voyage - G Simenon - 1957. Rencontre XX. Where the incident in question is to be found at the very end of Chapter VII, on pages 285-286.

Reference 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Penal_Code_of_1810.

Reference 3: https://www.ledroitcriminel.fr/la_legislation_criminelle/anciens_textes/code_penal_1810/code_penal_1810_1.htm.

Reference 4: https://www.restaurantonline.co.uk/Article/2025/07/08/battersea-natural-wine-bar-and-restaurant-soif-to-close/.

Reference 5: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/06/cheese-day.html.