260 



THi: STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



maintitn le droit. Maintain the right. 



KbOOM 

 im or hospital. 



maison de campagne, A country house. 

 de sank. A private.as> lu 



mourn de viUe, A town hall. 



ma i tr f des basses crurres. A nightman 



maitre de* Haute* cntvret. An executioner; a hangman. 



maitrr d"k6tti, A house steward. 



maladif du pays. Home-sickness 



mat it propos. Out of place; ill suited. 



Ml : '-. Ttothaebt 



mal de mer. Sea-sickness. 



mal entendre, A misunderstanding; a mistake. 



malar* nous. In spite of us. 



malheur ne vient jamais seul. Misfortunes never come 



mardi gnu. Shrove Tuesday. 



mariaffe de conscience, A pnvate marriage. 



manage d^ convenance, A marriage of convenience; or 

 from interested motives. 



matinee, A reception, or a musical or dramatic enter- 

 tainment, held in the daytime. 



mcnnaite honte. False modesty. 



maurais gout. False ta 



mauvais sujet, A worthless fellow. 



mayonnaise. A kind of salad dressing. 



medeein. oueris-toi toi-meme. Physician, heal thyself 



menu. Bill of fare. 



Mir ttt AUes einerlei (Ger.), It's all the same to me. 



mise-en-scfne. The staging of a play. 



man ami. My friend. 



mon cher. My dear (fellow). 



monsieur. Sir, master, gentleman. 



mot du guet, A watchword. 



mots a" usage. Words in common u-o. 



muraqlia bianco, carlo, di motto (It.), A white wall is the 

 fool's paper. 



naive. Having unaffected simplicity. 



naivete, Native simplicity. 



nee. Born. 



neglige, A morning dress. 



Neue Besen kehren gut (Ger.), A new broom sweeps 

 clean. 



ni I'un nt I'autre, Neither the one nor the other. 



n'importe. It is of no consequence. 



noblesse oblige. Nobility imposes obligations; much is ex- 

 pected from persons of good position. 



nom de guerre, A war-name, an assumed name, a pseu- 

 donym. 



nom de plume. An assumed title. 



non mi ricordo (It.), I do not remember. 



non obstant clameur de haro. Despite the hue and cry. 



non ogni fiore fa buon odore (It.), It is not every flower 

 that smells sweet. 



non vender la pelle dell' orse prima di pigliarlo (It.), 

 Don't sell the bearskin before you have caught the 

 bear. 



Noth kennt kein Gebot (Ger.), Necessity knows no law. 



notre dame. Our Lady, the Virgin Mary. 



n'oubliez pas, Don't forget. 



nous arsons change tout cela. We have changed all that. 



nous verrons. We shall see. 



nouveUes, News. 



nouvellette, A short tale or novel. 



nul bien sans peine. No pains, no gains. 



nulla nuova, buona nuova (It.), No news is good news. 



ogni bottega ha la sua malizia (It.), Every shop has its 

 trick: there are tricks in all trades. 



olla podrida (It.), A heterogeneous mixture. 



on connait Vami au besoin, A friend is known in time of 

 need. 



on dit. They say. 



oro b che oro vale (It.), That is gold which is worth gold; 

 all is not gold that glitters. 



oublier je ne puis, I can never forget. 



oui-dire. Hearsay. 



ouvrage de longue halenie, A long-winded business. 



ouvrier, A workman, an artisan. 



par ci, par la, Here and there. 



par excellence, Preeminently. 



par exemple. For instance. 



parole d'honneur. Word of honor. 



partout. Everywhere. 



parvenu, An upstart. 



pas a pas. Step by step. 



passe, Worn out. 



pate de foie gras, A pie made in Strasburg from the 

 livers of geese. 



peine forte et dure, Very severe punishment; a kind of 

 judicial torture 



penchant. Inclination; liking. 



pensee, A thought expressed in terse vigorous language. 



per (It.), For, through, by. 



per contante (It.), For cash. 



per contra (It.), On the contrary 



peredefamiU>, The father of the family. 



perdu, I 



per mesc i It ). By the month. 



per piii *trn<l< .-/ ivj a Ifmnn (It.). There arc many 



to Rome 



-nail. 



petit coup, A small mask; a domino. 

 pi-tit ninitrr. \ little master: a fop. 

 peuWi-/>'. Little by little; bydegn 

 pint it li-rre. A rest ing-place; a temporary lodging. 

 piljlinr <hn' coloinbi a unn fnra (It.), To catch two pigeons 



with one bean; to kill two birds with one stone, 

 pis oiler, The worst or last shift. 

 poco a poco (It.), Little by little; by degrees. 

 point d appui. Prop; point of support. 

 pommes de terre. Potatoes (apples of the earth). 

 pot-poum, A medley. 



pour acquit. Paid, settled; the usual form of receipt. 

 pour faire rire, To excite laughter. 

 pour fair -e visite. To pay a visit. 

 pour passer les temps. To while away the time. 

 pour prendre conge, To take leave. Usually abbreviated 



to P. P. C. 

 prendre la lune avecles dents, To seize the moon in one's 



teeth; to aim at impossibilities. 



presto maturo, presto marcio (It.), Soon ripe, soon rotten. 

 pret d'accomplir, Ready to accomplish. 

 prct pour mon pays. Ready for my country. 

 preux chevalier, A brave knight. 

 prima donna, Leading lady singer in an opera. 

 protege. One protected by another. 

 puree, A thick soup. 

 puree aux croutons, A thick soup with small cubes of 



toasted bread. 



quelque chose, Something; a trifle. 

 qui a bu boirji. The tippler will go on tippling; it is hard 



to break off bad habits. 

 quien poco sabe, presto lo reza (Sp.), He who knows 



little soon tells it. 

 quien sabe? (Sp.), Who knows? 

 qu'il soil comme il est desire, Let it be as desired. 

 qui m'aime aime mon chien, Love me, love my dog. 

 qui n'a sante, n'a rien, He who has not health, has 



nothing. 



qui va la f Who goes there? 

 qui vivef Who goes there? 

 raison tf^tat, A state reason. 

 raison d'etre, The reason for a thing's existence. 

 regime, Mode or style of rule or management. 

 rendezvous, A place of meeting. 



respondez s'il vous plait (r. s. v. p.), Reply if you please. 

 respondre en Normand, To answer in Norman ; to speak 



evasively. 



resume, A summing up. 

 rete nuova non piglia uccello vecchio (It.), A new net 



won't catch an old bird. 

 revenons a nos moutons, Let us return to our sheep : let 



us come back to our subject. 

 rien n'est, beau que le vrai, There is nothing beautiful 



but truth. 

 rira bien qui rira le dernier, He laughs well who laughs 



last. 

 rire entre cuir et chair, rire sous cape, To laugh in one's 



sleeve. 



robe de chambre, A dressing-gown, a morning-gown. 

 robe de nuit, A night-dress. 

 role, A part in a performance. 

 rouge. Red coloring for the skin. 

 ruse de guerre, A military stratagem. 

 sanan cuchilladas, mas no malas palabras (Sp.), Wounds 



from a knife will heal, but not those from the tongue, 

 sans ceremonie, Without ceremony, 

 sans peur et sans reproche, Fearless and stainless, 

 sans rime et sans raison, Without rhyme or reason, 

 sans souci, Free from care. 

 sauve qui peut, Save yourselves, 

 savant, A man of science. 

 savoir faire, Tact. 

 savoir vivre, Good breeding. 



sdegno d'amante poco dura (It.), A lover's anger is short- 

 lived. 



stance, A sitting. 

 seZon les regies. According to rule. 

 sempre il mal *non wen per nuocere (It.), Misfortune is 



not always an evil. 

 se non & vero, e ben trovato (It.), If it is not true, it is 



cleverly invented. 



Sie sehen gut aus (Ger.), You look well. 

 soiree, An evening party. 



souffler le chaud et le froid, To blow hot and cold. 

 so viel ich weiss (Ger.), As far as I know. 



