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bas-fond

shallows

noun bah-FOHN Rare

Also means

underworld

Usage Note

Bas-fond literally means a shallow area of water or low-lying ground prone to flooding. In the plural, les bas-fonds refers to the seedy underside of society — the slums or criminal underworld. This figurative use is more common in modern French than the literal geographical sense.

Examples

"Elle a grandi dans les bas-fonds de la ville."

Natural Translation

She grew up in the city's underworld.

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