500 Foreign Words and Phrases You Should Know to Sound Smart (5 page)

Bon repas doit commencer par la faim
(French) (bon ray-PAH dwah koh-moh-SAY par lah FAHM) (phrase)

French saying, literally, “A good meal should begin with hunger.” More generally, if you’re hungry, you’ll enjoy a good meal more.

bon vivant
(French) (bohn vee-VAHN) (noun)

Someone who enjoys life. A gourmet.

I liked Jean because he believed in partying until 2
a.m
.
He was, in fact, a BON VIVANT
.

boychik
(Yiddish) (BOY-chik) (noun)

Term of affection for a young man.

Such a good BOYCHIK he is then. So handsome, and he loves his mother!

Brevis ipsa vita est sed malis fit longior
(Latin) (BREH-wiss IP-sa WE-ta est said MAH-liss fit LONG-ee-or) (quotation)

Our life is short but made longer by misfortunes. Attributed to Publilius Syrus (1st century
B.C.
)

Brevissima ad divitias per contemptum divitiarum via est
(Latin) (breh-WISS-ih-mah ad dee-WEE-tee-ass pare con-TEMP-toom dee-wee-tee-AR-oom WE-ah- est) (quotation)

The shortest road to wealth is the contempt of wealth. Attributed to Seneca the Younger (4
B.C.
–
A.D.
65)

Nota Bene

Seneca the Younger (so called to distinguish him from his father, Seneca the Elder) was a Roman philosopher and playwright who was the tutor of the Emperor Nero. Seneca was an exponent of Stoicism, which was among the most popular philosophies in Rome. Stoics argued that strong emotions were to be avoided, since they inevitably led to errors in judgment. Seneca and his followers added that virtue is the only thing necessary for happiness, an idea that sat well with Roman emperors, who didn’t practice austerity themselves but strongly encouraged it among their subjects.

bubbala
(Yiddish) (BOO-buh-luh) (noun)

A term of affection, particularly applied by an older person to a younger one.

Come in and sit down, BUBBALA. Are you hungry? Sit. I’ll fix you something to nosh on
.

bwana
(Swahili) (BWAH-na) (noun)

Boss, important person. In Hollywood movies, this was the way in which African natives invariably addressed white explorers, regardless of whether the Africans were supposed to be native Swahili speakers. Writers were, perhaps, unaware that the term does not always have a favorable connotation in Swahili.

Don’t go down that path, BWANA! Lions will eat you. Oh, wait… never mind. It’s okay. Go down that path. No problem!

“There is the fear, common to all English-only speakers, that the chief purpose of foreign languages is to make fun of us. Otherwise, you know, why not just come out and say it?”

—Barbara Ehrenreich

C

camera obscura
(Latin) (KA-mer-ah ob-SKUR-ah) (noun)

An early version of a slide projector, this device projects an image of its surroundings on a screen. Like many devices, this seems to have been invented in China, where it’s mentioned as early as the fifth century b.c. Euclid (c. 300
B.C.
) was aware of it, as was Aristotle (384–322
B.C.
). Eventually, it led to the discovery of photography in the nineteenth century.

ça ne fait rien
(French) (SAH ne FAY ree-EHN) (phrase)

Literally, “It makes nothing.” Colloquially, never mind.

I don’t mind that you’ve obviously not been listening to me for the past ten minutes. ÇA NE FAIT RIEN
.

caput mortuum
(Latin) (KA-put MOR-too-oom) (noun)

Literally, “dead head.” The worthless remains of something. The term was used in alchemy, the medieval “science” of transmuting base metals into others (particularly gold).
Caput mortuum
is also the term for a bright purple pigment, used in oil paints and dyes and associated with royal personages (hence the English term “assume the purple,” meaning to ascend to higher office).

I’ve concluded an experiment in which I evaporated sea water, leaving a CAPUT MORTUUM of salt
.

Carpe diem
(Latin) (KAR-pay DEE-em) (interjection)

Seize the day. Originally a phrase from a poem by Horace (65
B.C.
–
8
B.C.
), the term became associated with a group of seventeenth-century poets known as the Metaphysicals. They included particularly Robert Herrick (1591–1674) who expressed this sentiment in his poem “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time.”

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may
,

Old Time is still a-flying;

And this same flower that smiles today
,

Tomorrow will be dying
.

Nota Bene

Carpe diem!
was the theme of the 1989 film
Dead Poets Society
, starring Robert Sean Leonard and Robin Williams. Williams played a private school teacher who sought to inspire his students to seize the day. He didn’t read to them from the Metaphysical poets, but rather from the Romantics, such as Byron, Shelley, and Keats, who also practiced a philosophy of
carpe diem
. In the end, given that the film was set in the 1950s, conformity and mediocrity triumph over romanticism, although a young Ethan Hawke has the last word, while standing on top of his desk in the classroom.

carte blanche
(French) (kart blahnsh) (noun)

Literally, “white card.” Colloquially, permission to do anything. In English, this is sometimes expressed as “being given a blank check.”

As far as I’m concerned, you have CARTE BLANCHE as far as what kind of car you want to buy for me
.

Carthago delenda est
(Latin) (kar-TAH-go day-LEN-da est) (quotation)

Carthage must be destroyed. The city of Carthage (located roughly at the site of the present-day Tunis) was a long-time enemy of Rome. The two cities fought three wars, known as the Punic Wars, and in all of them Rome was victorious. During the period leading up to the last war, the Roman statesman Cato the Elder (234
B.C.
–149
B.C.
) would end all his speeches to the Senate with this slogan. After the Battle of Carthage in 146
B.C.
, the city was, indeed, destroyed and its site sown with salt so nothing would ever grow there again. The slogan was later deployed by others to suggest a national imperative that cannot be avoided.

casus belli
(Latin) (KASS-us BELL-ee) (noun)

The cause for war. The reason a war was (or is) fought.

The CASUS BELLI for the American Civil War was slavery, though some have argued it was primarily the issue of states rights
.

causa mortis
(Latin) (KOW-ssa MOR-tiss) (noun)

In contemplation of coming death. A gift that is given by someone who anticipates imminent death is said to be given for this reason. Generally speaking, if the giver of the gift doesn’t actually die, she or he can hold on to the gift.

This fountain pen is very special to me, since my grandfather presented it to me CAUSA MORTIS when he had cancer
.

cause célèbre
(French) (kohz say-LEB-re) (noun)

A notable case or cause. In particular, a court case that attracts a great deal of media or is important for its legal consequences… or both.

The murder trial of O. J. Simpson was a peculiarly American CAUSE CÉLÈBRE, with its intermixture of violence and scandal, racial overtones, and a circuslike atmosphere in the courtroom
.

Caveat emptor
(Latin) (KAH-way-aht EMPT-or) (phrase)

Buyer beware. What businesses say to protect themselves from consumer lawsuits over defective products or services.

To your charge that I sold you a car whose engine had been replaced with one from a 1956 Edsel, I reply CAVEAT EMPTOR
.

Cave canem
(Latin) (KAH-way KAH-nem) (phrase)

Beware of the dog. The counterpart for felines would be
cave cattem
, but for some reason one rarely sees this on signs outside people’s houses.

C’est la guerre!
(French) (say lah GAYR) (phrase)

Literally, “That is war.” More generally, these are the kinds of things that happen in war.

It’s a pity that those three villages were destroyed and their inhabitants massacred, but C’EST LA GUERRE
.

C’est la vie!
(French) (say lah VEE) (phrase)

That’s life. An expression of general resignation at the essential irrational and unfair character of the world.

I’m sorry that you lost your job and are being divorced by your wife while I just won $20 million in the lottery, but C’EST LA VIE! And no, I won’t lend you any money
.

ceteris paribus
(Latin) (KET-air-ees PAR-i-boos) (phrase)

Literally, “with other things the same.” More colloquially, other things being equal. Most scientific experiments take place under an assumption of
ceteris paribus
, since scientists look for general laws rather than the specific phenomena of each particular event.

We can say, CETERIS PARIBUS, that water will boil at 212 degrees Fahrenheit
.

Chacun à son gout
(French) (SHA-con ah son GOO) (phrase)

To each his own taste. This phrase has been doubtfully attributed to Voltaire (1694–1778); certainly it expresses the great Frenchman’s view that one shouldn’t attempt to impose one’s tastes and standards on others.

Personally, I loathe the taste of lobster, but CHACUN À SON GOUT
.

cherchez la femme
(French) (SHARE-shay lah FEM) (phrase)

Search for the woman. More generally, be on the lookout for girls—usually as a motive force for something, be it a quarrel, a crime, or some other event. For French men, this is one of the guiding principles of life, the other being that there’s no occasion that won’t be improved by a glass (or several) of wine. And what’s wrong with that?

We’re going to hit the clubs tonight; remember, CHERCHEZ LA FEMME
.

chez nous
(French) (SHAY new) (noun)

Where we live. Our personal domicile.

I’d like to invite you CHEZ NOUS for drinks this evening. Say about 8 o’clock
.

chiaroscuro
(Italian) (kee-ah-roh-SKOO-roh) (noun)

A technique much used in Italian painting of the seventeenth century in which light and dark were dramatically contrasted. The painter Caravaggio (1571–1610) was a master of this style, and it can be seen to good effect in such paintings as “The Calling of St. Matthew” and “The Crucifixion of St. Peter.”

Caravaggio’s paintings show the powerful interaction between their subjects through his use of CHIAROSCURO, which focuses our attention on the central actors in the drama
.

chutzpah
(Yiddish) (HOOTS-pah) (noun)

Boldness or nerve. It’s occasionally good but often used negatively.

I can’t believe he had the CHUTZPAH to tell his wife her new bathing suit made her look fat. I wonder how much he’ll be left with after the divorce settlement
.

cinéma vérité
(French) (SIN-a-mah VAY-ree-tay) (noun)

A style of filmmaking that uses naturalistic techniques as well as classic cinematic styles. Although the movement began among French filmmakers in the 1950s and 1960s, it has gained adherents around the world.

In America, Barbara Kopple’s film
Harlan County U.S.A.
was an example of CINÉMA VÉRITÉ, with its unflinching examination of a strike by coal miners and the violence that erupted in its wake in Harlan County, Kentucky
.

circa
(Latin) (SIR-ka) (adv.)

Around; about. Generally used to qualify a date that is not specifically known.

The Latin poet Publilius Syrus lived CIRCA the first century
B.C.

Cogito ergo sum
(Latin) (KOG-ee-toh AIR-go soom) (quotation)

I think, therefore I am. The most famous quotation associated with the philosopher René Descartes (1596–1650). Descartes endeavored to develop a philosophy based on absolute skepticism of everything. Having tried to doubt everything possible, he concluded that the one thing he could not doubt was that he himself was doing the doubting. Therefore, the proof of his existence was his ability to contemplate the problem of his existence. From this, he proceeded to develop his philosophy, which is expressed in his book
Discourse on Method
.

cognoscenti
(Latin) (kog-no-SENT-ee) (noun)

Those who are especially well informed and well read about a particular subject or subjects. Alternately, someone with a superior intellect. In other words, the kind of person the reader of this book aspires to be.

The fact that I’m a member of the COGNOSCENTI can be discerned by my easy command of a range of foreign language terms—all of which I memorized before this party in order to impress everyone
.

coitus interruptus
(Latin) (KOH-i-tuss in-tare-UP-tiss) (noun)

Interrupted or uncompleted sexual intercourse. It’s sometimes been suggested as a birth-control method, although, all things considered, it’s hard to think of one more likely to fail.