500 Foreign Words and Phrases You Should Know to Sound Smart (4 page)

Because the weather is turning warm, I’ve put all my winter coats in the ARMOIRE until next fall
.

arrivederci
(Italian) (ah-reev-ah-DARE-chee) (salutation)

Goodbye, so long.

Until we see you next year, ARRIVEDERCI!

ars gratia artis
(Latin) (arz GRAH-tee-ah AR-tiss) (motto)

Art for art’s sake. The motto of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, appearing in the circle above the head of the roaring lion (named Leo). In the nineteenth century, it was the slogan of an artistic movement called the Aesthetics, who believed that art had no inherent value outside of its depiction of beauty. Oscar Wilde, a leading Aesthete, remarked, “All art is quite useless.”

Ars longa vita brevis
(Latin) (arz LONG-ah WE-tah BRE-wiss) (phrase)

Art is long, life is short. Originally an aphorism by the Greek physician Hippocrates, it is often interpreted to mean that because our lives are fleeting, we should enjoy the aesthetic pleasure we derive from a work of art, which will outlive us. Keeping in mind that Hippocrates was a physician and that in the original Greek, the word “ars” probably meant “craft,” it seems clear that what Hippocrates was getting at was that because life is fragile, a doctor should know what he’s doing before he does it—a strong caution for today’s physicians.

au contraire
(French) (oh con-TRAIR) (adv.)

To the contrary.

AU CONTRAIRE, sir, I don’t find your joke about my height in the least amusing
.

au courant
(French) (oh coor-AWNT) (adv.)

Current, up to date.

I remain AU COURANT through my perusal of
the New York Times
and
the Boston Globe
every morning
.

au fait
(French) (oh fay) (adv.)

Fully informed.

The president, because of his excellent sources of information, has remained AU FAIT regarding the developing situation in the Middle East
.

Aufgeschoben ist nicht aufgehoben
(German) (owf-ge-SHOW-ben ist nikt owf-ge-HO-ben) (phrase)

Put off does not mean giving up. A phrase that should offer comfort to those of us given to terminal procrastination.

auf Wiedersehen
(German) (owf VEE-der-sane) (interjection) Farewell.

In
The Sound of Music
(1965), the children of Captain von Trapp bid their father’s ball guests AUF WIEDERSEHEN in a song that outdoes just about every other number in the film for sentimental sloppiness
.

au gratin
(French) (oh grah-TAN) (adj.)

In cooking, a dish topped with bread crumbs and cheese. The food is then placed under a broiler to give the topping a rich golden brown color.

I just made macaroni and cheese AU GRATIN, using panko instead of regular bread crumbs
.

au mieux
(French) (oh myuh) (adv.)

On the best terms; on terms of intimacy.

Despite our divorce, my ex-husband and I have remained AU MIEUX
.

au naturel
(French) (oh na-tur-ELLE) (adj.)

Nude, naked. It’s sometimes used in cooking to mean without any sort of garnish, but it’s a lot more fun to use it with the other meaning.

My girlfriend and I hung out at the beach last weekend, and since there was no one around, we were AU NATUREL
.

au revoir
(French) (oh reh-VWAHR) (salutation)

Literally, “Until we meet again.” Goodbye.

At the end of P. L. Travers’s classic children’s novel
Mary Poppins
, the children notice that when the magical nanny bids them farewell, she says AU REVOIR. From this they deduce that she’ll be back someday
.

Aut amat aut odit mulier, nihil est tertium
(Latin) (owt ah-MAHT owt OH-dit moo-lee-air ni-hill est TARE-tee-um) (phrase)

A woman either loves or hates, there is no third way. A saying from the Roman poet and playwright Publilius Syrus (1st century
B.C.
). The quotation is from his
Sententiae
, the only one of his works that remains in existence.

Nota Bene

Roman drama drew heavily on Greek traditions. The most famous Roman playwrights, Terence (190–159
B.C.
) and Plautus (254–184
B.C.
), created plays that relied on the principles established by their Greek predecessors. Although the Romans enjoyed plays, relatively few seem to have been written during the period of empire, and Roman audiences evidently fell back on the old Greek standards.

aut Caesar aut nihil
(Latin) (awt KAI-zahr awt NEE-hill) (phrase)

Caesar or nothing. More generally, either a principled position or nothing. This phrase was adopted by the Renaissance prince Cesare Borgia (1475–1507) as a personal motto.

Nota Bene

Cesare Borgia was the quintessential Renaissance prince. The inspiration for Machiavelli’s
The Prince
, he was a general, statesman, and effective ruler of the Papal States during the Renaissance. He died while fighting for King John III of Navarre. Far more mythologized during his death than he had been celebrated in life, he remains the inspiration for modern morality-challenged figures such as Henry Kissinger.

auto da fé
(Spanish) (aw toh dah FAY) (phrase)

Burning at the stake, although the original meaning was concerned with the professing of public penitence made by the victims. Eventually the term came to be associated with the worst excesses of the Spanish Inquisition. Generally, the ritual involved a reading of the sentences of those charged with heresy, followed by their execution.

autres temps, autres moeurs
(French) (OH-tre TEMP OH-tre morez) (phrase)

Other times, other customs. More generally, whatever people may have done at other times, this is what we do now. Possibly originated in the writings of Chrétien de Troyes, the twelfth-century composer of Arthurian romances.

aut vincere aut mori
(Latin) (awt WIN-kay-re awt MOR-ree) (phrase)

To conquer or to die. More loosely, Victory or death!

We can’t possibly do anything more to win this football game. AUT VINCERE AUT MORI!

avant-garde
(French) (AH-vant gard) (noun)

Literally, “advance guard.” Cultural movement in Europe, primarily in France, that was marked by an embrace of the new and daring. Subsequently, it has come to mean anything that pushes the boundaries of accepted taste.

Rap music has become the AVANT-GARDE of modern musical style
.

avec plaisir
(French) (ah-VEK play-ZEER) (interjection)

With pleasure.

It would be a privilege to open the door for you. AVEC PLAISIR!

ave Imperator, morituri te salutant
(Latin) (AH-way im-per-AH-tor mor-ee-TOO-ree tay sa-LOO-tant) (phrase)

Hail, Emperor! We who are about the die, salute thee! The supposed phrase with which gladiators in the Roman arenas greeted the emperor. One is invited to wonder whether this was, in fact, their sentiment, since most of them would die in the next thirty or forty minutes, and those who survived were likely to do so with severe wounds. Some few benefited from the Roman games, though, and won their freedom from enslavement.

Ave Maria
(Latin) (AH-way Mar-EE-ah)

The beginning of the traditional Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary. The prayer has been set to music on many occasions, and it forms the basis of an important section of the Catholic liturgy.

Nota Bene

The original basis of Hail Mary was the episode in the Gospel According to Luke in which an angel of the Lord appeared to Mary of Nazareth, saying, “Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” This became an essential part of the cult of the Virgin Mary, which was a significant element of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, both in literature and art.

“Life is a foreign language: all men mispronounce it.”

—Christopher Morley

B

baksheesh
(Farsi) (bahk-SHEESH) (noun)

Tipping or charitable giving. In recent years, it has also come to mean bribing or otherwise gaining political influence.

I wouldn’t have any influence at all with our congressman if it weren’t for the BAKSHEESH that I spread around during his last campaign
.

basta
(Spanish) (BAHS-tah) (interjection)

Enough!

I’m tired of eating nothing but tapas and drinking sherry. BASTA!

beaucoup
(French) (boh-COO) (interjection)

Much.

Last night’s party was filled with BEAUCOUP wine, dancing, and song. Unfortunately, I’m paying the price for that this morning
.

beau geste
(French) (boh zhest) (noun)

A noble gesture that is empty of substance.

Nota Bene

Beau Geste
is the title of a 1924 adventure novel by P. C. Wren. It was later made into a movie with Gary Cooper in the lead role. The story concerns the theft of a precious jewel, forcing Beau Geste, an upper-class Briton, to enlist in the French Foreign Legion, where he dies valiantly. It’s revealed that he concealed the theft of the gem for honorable reasons and thus becomes the embodiment of the ethos Englishmen liked to think drove the British empire.

beau monde
(French) (boh mond) (noun)

High society. The phrase reflects the highly class-ridden society of Western Europe prior to the end of World War I.

We were members of the BEAU MONDE before 1918, but afterwards we settled into the upper ranks of the bourgeoisie
.

bel esprit
(French) (bell eh-SPREE) (noun)

Someone who is highly intelligent and cultivated. Not unlike the compilers of this book.

I’ve always looked upon a person like Joan Didion as a BEL ESPRIT
.

belles-lettres
(French) (bell-LET-re) (noun)

Well-written, well-regarded literature. Classic literature.

The works of Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac are taken, often, as epitomes of French BELLES-LETTRES
.

bête noir
(French) (BEHT nwahr) (noun)

Antagonist. Chosen enemy. One who is a persistent challenge or foe.

Someone who is openly foolish has always been my BÊTE NOIR, but I’ve managed to survive many such people
.

Bildungsroman
(German) (bill-dungs-ROH-mahn) (noun)

A term of literary criticism, this refers to a coming-of-age story that shows the growth of the protagonist through the various stages of adolescence, teen angst, and early youth. The Germans were particularly struck with this kind of thing and produced bales of these novels in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Goethe’s
The Sorrows of Young Werther
is a classic BILDUNGSROMAN of the German Romantic period
.

billet doux
(French) (bill-ay DOO) (noun)

A love letter.

Because I knew that Susan had a major crush on Robert, I agreed to carry a BILLET DOUX between them—although it made me throw up a little in my mouth
.

Bis dat qui cito dat
(Latin) (biss daht kwi KEE-to dat) (phrase)

That which is given quickly is twice given. In other words, if you donate something without really considering it, your gift is more generous. There’s no indication of the source of this popular Latin proverb.

Bis vincit, qui se vincit in victoria
(Latin) (bis win-kit KWI say win-kit in wik-TOH-ree-ah) (phrase)

He conquers twice who, in the hour of his conquest, conquers himself. The general meaning is that the greatest generals are those who exercise self-restraint, a deeply Roman virtue.

Blitzkrieg
(German) (BLITZ-kreeg) (noun)

Literally, “lightning war.” A term applied to the German strategy during the first part of World War II of attacking swiftly and
ruthlessly. The Germans launched blitzkriegs against Poland, Belgium, France, and, in 1941, Russia—though in the latter case it didn’t work out too well for them.

Given the filthy state of your apartment, I’ve launched a cleaning BLITZKREIG. Did you know you had a floor under those piles of dirty clothes, books, magazines, and something disgusting that I had to remove with a pair of old kitchen tongs?

bona fides
(Latin) (BON-ah feeds) (adj.)

Good faith.

When I went to dinner with my ex-spouse, I brought a check for six months’ back child support, as evidence of my BONA FIDES
.

bon mot
(French) (bohn moh) (noun)

Literally, “a good word.” A witticism, something said cleverly.

At the sort of parties I’m often forced to attend, intellectuals stand around sipping white wine and nibbling brie, dropping BON MOTS all over the place. It’s enough to make you want to throw up
.

bonne chance
(French) (bohn SHAHNSS) (interjection)

Good luck! Often used with a slightly ironical tone.

I see you’ve placed all your money on the possibility of winning the Grand Slam lottery. BONNE CHANCE!