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It’s a fact, English words and expressions are increasingly present in other languages.<\/p>\n
In France, people often say “weekend”, instead of “fin de semaine<\/em>“, “mail” instead of “courriel<\/em>“, etc.<\/p>\n But the other way is also true: A lot of\u00a0French words, idioms, and\u00a0expressions have since a long time found their way into the language of Shakespeare.<\/p>\n Today, we’ll go over some of such expressions, often identified in English as “allusions.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2192\u00a0Not necessarily as negative as the word\u00a0orgueil\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(pride),\u00a0<\/strong>the French term\u00a0amour-propre<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0designates\u00a0self-esteem<\/strong>, and literally means “self-love<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n \u2192\u00a0<\/strong>It can translate in English as a “beautiful, magnanimous gesture”, displaying the self-sacrifice of the person who makes it.<\/p>\n \u2192\u00a0<\/strong>At any rate, “b\u00eate noire<\/em><\/strong>” translates as “black beast<\/strong>“, and stands for “archenemy<\/strong>“, “archnemesis<\/strong>“, “archfoe<\/strong>“, etc.<\/p>\n\n
In an article of “The New York Times” (January 4th, 2010), Clyde Haberman writes:<\/div>\n“This wasn\u2019t a case of\u00a0amour-propre<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>on the mayor\u2019s part. Well, not\u00a0just\u00a0a case of\u00a0amour-propre<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0It was a recognition that, love them or not, the wealthiest bear much of the freight for services that help those with the least.”<\/div>\n\n
In the “Philadelphia Enquirer” (October 27th, 2011), A.D. Amorosi writes: “Hipness is sought-after and high-value these days in the music world, so it’s fascinating to watch\u00a0au courant<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>acts trading on the market, fascinating to track their score daily on the hipness index.”<\/div>\n\u2192<\/strong>\u00a0“Au courant<\/strong><\/em>” translates literally as “in the current<\/strong>“, and simply means “aware<\/strong>“, “to be ‘in’<\/strong>“, or “in the loop.<\/strong>“<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
In his prequel to “The Art of Seduction”, best-selling author Robert Green writes in “The 48 Laws of Power”: “Caesar’s dramatic crossing of the Rubicon was a\u00a0beau geste<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u2014 a move that dazzled the soldiers and gave him heroic proportions.”<\/div>\n
What is a\u00a0beau geste<\/em><\/strong>?<\/div>\n\n
Two days ago, on the BBC website, North America Editor Mark Mardell wrote: “I get the impression that Mr Norquist, with his deadpan delivery and an impish sense of humour, delights in being the\u00a0bete noire<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>of the liberal establishment.”<\/div>\nAnd as far as we are concerned, one gets the impression that even intelligentsia writers, such as M. Mardell, often seem “to delight” in omitting the use of accents when resorting to French expressions, either out of sheer\u00a0n\u00e9gligence\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(the “mot juste<\/em><\/strong>” in this case would then be\u00a0“negligentsia<\/strong>” writers), or simply because they do not have such accents at their disposal.<\/div>\n\n\n
In “The Independent” of last Friday (November 18th, 2011), Robert Fisk analyzes the currently tense situation between Turkey and Syria by saying: “A Turkish military\u00a0cordon sanitaire<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>inside the border with Syria seems to be the favourite.”<\/div>\n\u2192\u00a0<\/strong>The term “cordon sanitaire<\/strong><\/em>” stands for an area that acts as a protective barrier against a potential danger, either military (as alluded to in Fisk’s article), or a medical one, for example.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Not long ago, in the Washington Examiner (November 10th, 2011), Kelly Jane Torrance titled her article “Film’s\u00a0enfant terrible<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>makes surprisingly tame disaster”, referring to\u00a0Danish director\u00a0Lars von Trier<\/a>.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u2192\u00a0<\/strong>In plain words,\u00a0enfant terrible<\/em><\/strong>, or “terrible child”, refers to someone who is characterized as a combination of famous and outrageous, and often famous *because* outrageous.
\nYou can read more on this Danish director (of “Antichrist” and “Melancholia” fame) and other\u00a0enfants\u00a0<\/em>“encore plus<\/em>“\u00a0terribles\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>in The French Blog’s “And the \u201cGrands gagnants<\/em>\u201d (\u201cBig Winners\u201d) of the 2011 Cannes Festival Are\u2026<\/a><\/strong>“)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Four days ago, discussing Germany’s pivotal role in the salvation of the Euro, Guido Westerwelle wrote in the Financial Times: “Sound budgeting is not a German\u00a0id\u00e9e fixe<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>based on our historical experience of hyperinflation. It is in the interest of Europe as a whole.<\/strong>“<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u2192\u00a0<\/strong>An\u00a0i<\/strong>d\u00e9e fixe\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/em>is literally a “fixed idea<\/strong>“, and refers to an “obsessive preoccupation<\/strong>.”<\/div>\n