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insouciance in-SOO-see-uhns noun nonchalance; without due concern 1937Agatha ChristieDeath on the NileThere was now no insouciance, no malicious defiance, no dark flaming triumph.1959James A. MichenerHawaiiHis men also found him fun to be with, for he posed as having the insouciance that all young men in uniform like to think they have, and his company was one of the best.1971Frederick ForsythThe Day of the JackalIn a small office near the Porte des Lilas the insouciance did not penetrate.Labels: Agatha Christie, Frederick Forsyth, James A. Michener
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Entry By: CJ Cooney
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la belle dame sans merci la bel daym sawn MAER-see phrase the beautiful woman without mercy 1912SakiThe Unbearable Bassington'La belle dame sans merci scoring a verbal trick or two as usual,' said a player at another table in a discreet undertone.1936Agatha ChristieMurder In MesopotamiaSuch women naturally revolt from the idea of marriage. They may be attracted by men, but they prefer to belong to themselves. They are truly La Belle Dame sans Merci of the legend.1978John MortimerRumpole of the BaileyShe had floated before my eyes from my early days with the old Oxford Book of English Verse, as Herrick's Julia, or Lovelace's Lucasta, or 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci', or the 'Lady of Shallot'.1987Ben BovaThe Kinsman SagaLa belle dame sans merci. The beautiful lady who never says thank you.Labels: Agatha Christie, Ben Bova, John Mortimer, Saki
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je ne sais quoi zhuh nuh say KWAW noun an unexplainable certain something; the 'it' factor 1838Honore De BalzacScenes from a Courtesans LifeNotwithstanding these defects, notwithstanding her board-like carriage, she had by birth and education a grand air, a proud demeanor, in short, everything that has been well named le je ne sais quoi, due partly, perhaps, to her uncompromising simplicity of dress, which stamped her as a woman of noble blood.1929Agatha ChristiePartners In Crime'On the contrary,' said Tuppence, 'there is a feminine subtlety about my conversation, a je ne sais quoi, that no gross male could ever attain to.…'1998Orson Scott CardHomebody...you bring a special je ne sais quoi to the discussion of plumbing fixtures.Labels: Agatha Christie, Honore De Balzac, Orson Scott Card
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lèse majesté layz MA-juh-stee noun treason; a crime committed against a king or queen 1898Max NordauThe Malady of the CenturyI will therefore dismiss the charge, if only to avoid the public scandal of a Member being accused of lese majeste.'1910Jane AddamsTwenty Years At Hull HouseIt seemed that moment as if the hopes of democracy were more likely to come to pass on English soil than upon our own. Robert Blatchford's stirring pamphlets were in everyone's hands, and a reception given by Karl Marx's daughter, Mrs. Aveling, to Liebknecht before he returned to Germany to serve a prison term for his lese majeste speech in the Reichstag, gave us a glimpse of the old-fashioned orthodox Socialist who had not yet begun to yield to the biting ridicule of Bernard Shaw although he flamed in their midst that evening.1939Agatha ChristieEasy to KillSeems to think he's God Almighty and that anyone who disagrees with him is committing lese-majeste.Labels: Agatha Christie, Jane Addams, Max Nordau
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scarabee SKAER-uh-bee noun a beetle; a dung beetle; an ancient Egyptian symbol 1872Oliver Wendell Holmes The Poet At the Breakfast Table I think, by way of compromise and convenience, I shall call him the Scarabee. He has come to look wonderfully like those creatures—the beetles, I mean—-by being so much among them. His room is hung round with cases of them, each impaled on a pin driven through him, something as they used to bury suicides. These cases take the place for him of pictures and all other ornaments. 1972Agatha ChristieElephants Can Remember'Yes, that table—the brass one—that's Captain Wilson, he sent me that from Singapore or something like that. And that Benares brass, too. That's nice, isn't it? That's a funny thing on the ash tray. That's Egyptian, that is. It's a scarabee, or some name like that. You know. Sounds like some kind of scratching disease, but it isn't. No, it's a sort of beetle and it's made out of some stone. They call it a precious stone. Bright blue. A lazy—a lavis—a lazy lapin or something like that.'Labels: Agatha Christie, Oliver Wendell Holmes
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