This week's theme: words related to repartee.

bon mot (bon mo) noun, plural bons mots

   A witty remark.

[From French bon mot, literally good word. It's from the same language
in which mother-in-law is called belle-mere, literally beautiful mother.
No wonder French was once the language of diplomacy.]

  "Many people are familiar with the things [Samuel] Johnson said - with
   bon mots such as 'patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel' and
   'when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life'."
   Catherine Keenan; Johnson's Defining Glory; The Sydney Morning Herald
   (Australia); Jan 7, 2006 .

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Monthly French, German, Italian and Spanish cultural audio magazines for
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Another Word A Day, a new book by Anu Garg. Reviewers called it: "Amazing"
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............................................................................
I love you, and because I love you, I would sooner have you hate me for
telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies. -Pietro Aretino,
satirist and dramatist (1492-1556)

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Pronunciation:
http://wordsmith.org/words/bon_mot.wav
http://wordsmith.org/words/bon_mot.ram

Permalink: http://wordsmith.org/words/bon_mot.html

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