Foreign Phrases?

[ixcrisxi]

Ever wonder what that string of words was in the newspaper you read this morning or what us silly teenagers are talking about? Of course you do! I do, mysefl! Here's the place to find foreign phrases to add to your vocabulary. Just post a phrase (latin, u.s. lingo, french, etc.) and its meaning for us. C'est bon, non?

de trop: not wanted (French)
mot juste: appropriate word or expression (French) pl. mots justes

[nausicaa]

Here's an easy one:

"Veni, vidi, vici." - I came, I saw, I conquered. (Latin)

*Caveat Emptor: Phrase only to be used by those arrogant enough to pull it off. Advice - think Julius Caesar after he defeated Pharnaces.

[Zaius]

"de trop" literally "too much of" in French, so it will usually be used to mean "not wanted" but not always (it can just mean "whether it be wanted or not, I think there is too much of that")

[MasterOfPuppets]

sticking with the latin theme

carpe diem - 'seize the day'

[SnowflakeGirl]

It really annoys me when people confuse:
coup de grâce--a final, winning blow
with:
coup d'état--the overthrowing of an established government

:nono And don't anyone confuse these terms for coup de maître, which means "masterstroke".

ETA: Those phrases are French in origin, BTW. (Why is there no beret-wearing, Gauloise-smoking, Sarte-reading smiley?)

[Zaius]

It really annoys me when people confuse:
coup de grâce--a final, winning blow
with:
coup d'état--the overthrowing of an established government

:nono And don't anyone confuse these terms for coup de maître, which means "masterstroke".

ETA: Those phrases are French in origin, BTW. (Why is there no beret-wearing, Gauloise-smoking, Sarte-reading smiley?)

my favorite is when people (even on the cable news) say "deja vu all over again"

[SnowflakeGirl]

my favorite is when people (even on the cable news) say "deja vu all over again"

I know!
Mon cri de coeur: Why? Why do people insist on abusing language like that?

[ixcrisxi]

deus ex machina: a person or event that provides a sudden and unexpected solution to a difficulty (Latin)


SnowflakeGirl, are you fluent in French?

[nausicaa]

A little more obscure this time:

"In potentia"- What is not, but may be

"In esse" - What already is; existing

and, of course, "Cogito ergo sum" - I think, therefore, I am.

[nausicaa]

Oh, we should get started on commonly-used Italian expressions, too. I'll start with an easy one:

"La dolce vita" - the sweet life (not to be confused with Aristotle's "the good life". I doubt eudaimonia is at all what Fellini intended to convey. )