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fricoter

to scheme, to be up to something dodgy

verb free-koh-TAY Rare
Mind & Emotions Attitudes

Origin: From fricot (a stew cooked up from scraps)

Also means

to cook up (a meal, colloquial)

Usage Note

Fricoter in its primary colloquial sense means to plot or do something shady: qu'est-ce qu'il fricote encore? ('what's he scheming now?'). A secondary informal sense means to cook up a quick meal from leftovers, close to the literal origin. Both uses are informal and should be avoided in formal writing.

Examples

"Je me demande ce qu'il fricote dans son coin."

Natural Translation

I wonder what he's scheming in his corner.

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