Way back in 1066 the English language, already a mish-mash of a dozen different dialects, suddenly doubled in size with the Norman conquest. French became the language of the government and hence of the ruling classes. “Pig” now only meant the animal. The meat became “pork”.
Even today, almost a thousand years later, French words still make up almost a third of the words in the English language. Almost everyone knows what déjà vu means, for instance.
Mental Floss has come up with a list of twenty lesser-known French phrases. Most of them I’d heard of, read in books, and knew the meaning of. Remember the hero riding ventre à terre to rescue his heroine in the old-style bodice rippers? Some of these phrases really are too good to disappear such as honi soit qui mal y pense and revenons à nos moutons.
Enjoy reading these: http://mentalfloss.com/article/60462/20-french-phrases-you-should-be-using
Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com
Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.
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