Je Ne Sais What?: 2a Guide to de Rigueur Frenglish for Readers, Writers, and Speakers

by Jon Winokur

Book Overview

C'est magnifique! Learn the language of amour, fashion, food and diplomacy in this delightful guide to the French terms that we all use but may not understand. This reference explores the French expressions, maxims, and literary allusions that grace English. With his customary finesse, Portable Curmudgeon author Jon Winokur offers definitions and often brief etymological notes and illustrative quotations.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 052593703X
• ISBN13: 9780525937036
• Release Date: March 1995
• Publisher: Dutton Books
• Length: 162 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Plutot Amusant

This an interesting book, well worth buying, but keep in mind two points: 1) this is very much a tongue-in-cheek book, with cartoons and easy as peas pronunciation guides; 2) all of the entries are intended to be French words that have at some point been incorporated into the English language. I.e. it is purely a Frenglish book. I had this book for a long time and I never bothered to open it. Many of the phrases and terms seem to be used simply to make you seem like a philosophe, if you are inclined to use them. I found that the most interesting additions, however, were those words and phrases that had no English equivalent, such as "esprit d'escalier," a fanciful phrase meaning literally "spirit of the staircase." It refers to those witty comebacks you think of after the fact, perhaps when you are leaving a friend's apartment and are walking down the staircase. Some other boons to this thin little book: 1) an easy pronunciation guide is included for each of the terms; 2) for about one-fifth of the entries, examples in literature and popular press are included, perhaps to remind the reader that many of these entries are in fact used by educated writers and readers; 3) odd cartoons are peppered throughout, perhaps to remind the reader that this isn't exactly intended to be a serious reference guide. The main downside: I wish there were more quotations of the words in context. The book would have increased in size, but including examples would soften my skepticism that, even among lettered company, many of these Frenchisms would go unrecognized. (Though perhaps that is the point.) Overall, I'd recommend if you fall into any of these categories: --you want to appear educated and sophisticated to your country club colleagues, but you don't know "moi" from "merde." In such case, this book will provide just enough French terms to provide a patina of uber-snobbishness. --you learned French in high school, but forgot most of it. If so, then this book is a fun "re-entry" into the langue de Moliere. At least it gets back into the habit of forming your mouth to pronounce that beastly word, "ouevre." --you are an out-and-out Francophile, and you want to add to your lexicon. Sure you've heard of the usual suspects, (e.g. vive la difference, je ne sais quoi, en masse, etc.), but you're looking for those outre terms that noone save a dedicated Tricoloriste would have in their armament. There are some words that I doubt few writers of the English language have included in their writing, words such as oeillade, extrados, piece rose, etc. Bon appetit!

Interesting and Fun

Any devotee of the French language will enjoy this book. There's an alphabetical list of French expressions that have crept into the English language. I can't say I had heard of all of them before reading the book but, in several cases, the author includes a blurb in which the expression has been used, often a rather esoteric review in the arts. There's an interesting piece on the opposite phenomenon, the dreaded fear of franglais and the attempts to eradicate all remnants of English in the French language (an impossible task). The book is very amusing...a quick read that you can come back to from time to time.