French Words and Expressions in English

Quiz

papier mâché   "mashed paper"
   Used for art

par excellence   "by excellence"
   Quintessential, preeminent, the best of the best

pas de deux   "step of two"
   Dance with two people

passé   "past"
   Old-fashioned, out-of-date, past its prime

passe-partout   "pass everywhere"
   1. Master key
   2. (Art) mat, paper, or tape used to frame a picture

peau de soie   "skin of silk"
   Soft, silky fabric with a dull finish

petit   "small"
   (law) lesser, minor

petite   "small, short"
   It may sound chic, but petite is simply the feminine French adjective meaning "short" or "small."

petit four   "little oven"
   Small dessert, especially cake

petit mal   "small illness"
   Relatively mild epilepsy. Also see grand mal

petit point   "little stitch"
   Small stitch used in needlepoint.

pièce de résistance   "piece of stamina"
   In French, this originally referred to the main course - the test of your stomach's stamina. In both languages, it now refers to an outstanding accomplishment or the final part of something - a project, a meal, etc.

pied-à-terre   "foot on ground"
   A temporary or secondary place of residence.

pince-nez   "pinch-nose"
   Eyeglasses clipped to the nose

Plus ça change   "More it changes"
   The more things change (the more they stay the same)

porte cochère   "coach gate"
   Covered gate through which cars drive and then stop temporarily to allow passengers to enter a building without getting rained upon.

potpourri   "rotten pot"
   A scented mixture of dried flowers and spices; a miscellaneous group or collection

prêt-à-porter   "ready to wear"
   Originally referred to clothing, now sometimes used for food.

prix fixe   "fixed price"
   Two or more courses at a set price, with or without options for each course. Though the term is French, in France, a "prix fixe menu" is simply called le menu.

protégé   "protected"
   Someone whose training is sponsored by an influential person.


raison d'être   "reason for being"
   Purpose, justification for existing

rendez-vous   "go to"
   In French, this refers to a date or an appointment (literally, it is the verb se rendre [to go] in the imperative); in English we can use it as a noun or a verb (let's rendez-vous at 8pm).

repartee   "quick, accurate response"
   The French repartie gives us the English "repartee," with the same meaning of a swift, witty, and "right on" retort.

risqué   "risked"
   Suggestive, overly provocative

roche moutonnée   "rolled rock"
   Mound of bedrock smoothed and rounded by erosion. Incidentally, mouton means "sheep."

roman à clés   "novel with keys"
   Novel with real people appearing as fictional characters

roman-fleuve   "novel river"
   A long, multi-volume novel which presents the history of several generations of a family or community. In both French and English, saga tends to be used more.

rouge   "red"
   The English refers to a reddish cosmetic or metal/glass-polishing powder, and can be a noun or a verb.

RSVP   "respond please"
   This abbreviation stands for Répondez, s'il vous plaît, which means that "Please RSVP" is redundant.


sang-froid   "cold blood"
   The ability to maintain one's composure.

sans   "without"
   Used mainly in academia, although it's also seen in the font style "sans serif" => without decorative flourishes.

savoir-faire   "knowing how to do"
   Synonymous with tact or social grace.

savoir-vivre   "to know how to live"
   Manners, etiquette

soi-disant   "self saying"
   What one claims about oneself; so-called, alleged

soigné   "taken care of"
   1. Sophisticated, elegant, fashionable
   2. Well-groomed, polished, refined 

soirée   "evening"
   In English, refers to an elegant party.

soupçon   "suspicion"
   Used figuratively like hint: There's just a soupçon of garlic in the soup.

souvenir   "memory, keepsake"
   A memento

succès d'estime   "success of estime"
   Important but unpopular success or achievement

succès fou   "crazy success"
   Wild success


tableau vivant   "living picture"
   A scene made up of silent, motionless actors

table d'hôte   "host table"
   1. A table for all guests to sit together
   2. A fixed-price meal with multiple courses

tête-à-tête   "head to head"
   A private talk or visit with another person

toilette   "toilet"
   In French, this refers both to the toilet itself and anything related to toiletries; thus the expression "to do one's toilette" - brush hair, do makeup, etc. See eau de toilette, above.

touché   "touched"
   Originally used in fencing, now equivalent to "you got me."

tour de force   "turn of strength"
   Something which takes a great deal of strength or skill to accomplish.

tout de suite   "right away"
   Due to the silent e in de, this is often misspelled "toot sweet" in English.

trompe l'œil   "trick the eye"
   A painting style which uses perspective to trick the eye into thinking it is real. In French, trompe l'œil can also refer in general to artifice and trickery.


vieux jeu   "old game"
   Old-fashioned

vis-à-vis (de)   "face to face"
   In French, when vis-à-vis precedes a noun and means facing, next to, or towards, it must be followed by the preposition de. In English it means "compared to" or "in relation with": vis-à-vis this decision => vis-à-vis de cette décision.

Vive la France !   "(long) live France"
   Essentially the French equivalent of saying "God bless America." Note that it's vive la France, not "viva la France."

Voilà !   "There it is!"
   Nearly every time I see this in English, it is misspelled as "voilá" or "violà."

vol-au-vent   "flight of the wind"
   In both French and English, a vol-au-vent is a very light pastry shell filled with meat or fish with sauce.

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir ?   "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?"
   An unusual phrase in that English speakers use it far more than French speakers


French has also given English scores of words in the domains of ballet and cooking. The literal meanings of the French words are (in parentheses).

Ballet terms: barre (bar), chaîné (chained), chassé (chased), développé (developed), effacé (shaded), pas de deux (two step), pirouette (turn), plié (bent), relevé (lifted)...

Cooking terms: blanch (from blanchir => to bleach), sauté (fried over high heat), fondue (melted), purée (crushed), flambée (burned)...


Think you know all these French terms used in English? See how well you do on the quiz.

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