Assommoir : nm arg. Formerly, drinking establishment where we sold bad eau-de-vie, vitriolic liquors that stun the drinkers.
The first stunner, well before that of the famous Paul Niquet, was created around 1810, rue de la Corderie, near the Temple, by a man named Montier. This charitable poisoner had established in his rearBook a special room for the knocked down; straw served as litter, cobblestones served as pillows.
This room was called the morgue.
"L'Assomoir" is the title of a novel byÉmile Zola (1840-1902), published in 1876 where the writer restores there the language and the mores of the workers, while describing the ravages caused by the misery and thealcoholism.