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French Phrases

When you want a character to sound pretentious, nothing beats a nice turn of French. Somehow, American writers (and readers) associate all things French with money, pretense, and culture. It’s quite the mix of responses, a “love-hate” relationship with France. If you want a character with class, or one completely without class, French is a wonderful tool.

– Words and Phrases –

affaire de coeur - love affair
au contraire - to the contrary
au fait - possessing practical knowledge of a thing
au revoir - until we meet again
autre temps, autres moeurs - other times, other customs
avec plaisir - with pleasure
bête noire - a thing especially disliked
bon jour - good day; hello
bon soir - goodnight
bourgeoisie - middle-class, materialistic
c’est-à-dire - that is to say
c’est la vie - such is life
chacun à son goût - each to his own taste
coup de grâce - death blow
coûte que coûte - cost what it cost
dégagé - without emotional links
de trop - too much or too many
dernier ressort - last option
Dieu avec nous - God is with us
Dieu défend le droit - God defends the right
en plein jour - In full daylight; openly
en rapport - in sympathy
fait accompli - accomplished fact; finished act
femme de chambre - chambermaid
fête champêtre - outdoor festival
gardez la foi - keep the faith
grand monde - world at large; refined society
honi soit qui mal y pense - evil be with him who has evil thoughts
ici on parle français - French is spoken here
jeu de mots - play on words; a pun
jeu d’esprit - play of wit
j’y suis, j’y reste - here I am, here I stay
le roi est mort, vive le roi - The king is dead, long live the king.
le style, c’est l’homme - the style is the man
mise en scène - setting; environment; the stage
mon ami - my friend; my love (friendly)
n’est ce pas? - isn’t that so?
nom de guerre - assumed name
objet d’art - object of art
peu de chose - a small matter
pièce de résistance - the primary event; main reason; principal meal
pis aller - last resort
quand même - nevertheless; nonetheless
qui s’excuse, s’accuse - he who excuses himself, accuses himself
raison d’état - for the good of the country
raison d’être - reason for being
sans peur et sans reproche - without fear, without reproach
sans souci - carefree
tant mieux, tant pis - so much the better, so much the worse

voilà - look or see
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