noun, masculineplural: chiens de Jean de Nivelle
a disobedient animal or a person
Literally, “Jean de Nivelle's dog”. Of unclear origin. Jean de Nivelle is sometimes speculated to have been a son of Jean de Montmorency who refused to help his father and support Louis XI in the war against the duke of Burgundy. When his furious father disinherited him, Jean de Nivelle fled to Flanders.