Le Mot Juste: A Dictionary of Classical and Foreign Words and Phrases

One of the most useful references in my library, although it is small enough to soon outgrow it. However, for those who do not use foreign phrases too often, this is the the reference to have, for those who want a more robust version, I recommend the next step up this ladder: The Oxford Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases.

This version was small enough in fact that I integrated all of the words into my online dictionary, and still I sometimes forget and go back to the book shelf. Four stars.

This book helps fill in the blanks to better understand phrases. Not covered in the usual language text or course.

I had fun flipping through this book and reading phrases in all sorts of languages, including Latin, some of which I found I had the wrong idea of what they meant! If you've studied say German, you'll recognize and know the simple phrases in that chapter, but there's still French, Italian and so on to learn from.

I love Le Mot Juste. My 1987 edition copy is well-worn. It is good to see that the book is continuing to be updated. Sylvester Mawson's original version was published in 1934!

Nearly always, I have been successful in finding expressions I have looked up in these pages. But, if you are like me, a lover of lists, you will enjoy browsing when you are not hunting for the meaning of a word.

In my edition, the definitions are not separated into language groups, which means you don't have to know which language the expression comes from. But I would guess that most users of the book would have some idea of the likely section to hunt in. Could be confusing with Italian and Spanish, though!

Recommended for all lovers of language.

In a world where many foreign words and phrases have become increasingly common in both spoken and written English, this book is almost a necessity.

It clarifies numerous words and phrases from Greek, Latin, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and Yiddish that are used, and just as often, misused, by English speakers and writers.

A few examples:

Under French we find "maison de societe" which literally translates to society house. I had always thought that this must refer to the manor in which some rich or powerful personage resided. No way! It really means a brothel. That's a good one not to misuse.

Here's another from the French language: How many of us know that "bel air" means poise, grace, or good deportment?

Any of us who have ever followed a court case have probably heard the Latin expression "in camera." That literally translates to "in a room," but really means "proceedings conducted in secret."

Now for one from the Italian. We have often heard that someone is a dilettante and most of us probably have some vague sense of what the word means, but how many of us could accurately define dilettante if asked? I'd hazard a guess that the honest answer would be "very few." A dilettante is an amateur, particularly an amateur lover of the arts, but there is a subtler nuance to the word. It also means that this amateur is one who approaches the subject with little or no serious study, and may well pretend to have more knowledge than he actually has.

This is just the surface. LE MOT JUSTE defines and discusses such disparate words and phrases as "Kung Fu," "Pandora's Box," "Nabob." "Kismet, Kimono, and Kibitzer," to name but a few. It also emphasises the nuances that often give the words and phrases their fuller meaning.

It's a good book for any literate person's book shelf.