Definition: break sugar

Criticising someone in their absence. This expression seems to date back to 1868. The verb "casser" clearly conveys the notion of physical or verbal destruction of a person or thing. In slang, "sucrer" meant "to mistreat" at that time. From the 17th century onwards, "se sucrer de quelqu’un" was also used to mean "to take someone for a fool". "Casser du sucre" therefore means "to gossip". As for the notion of "dos", it symbolises a person's responsibility.