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SweetFreedom Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
It is hard for a mot to get more juste than that?
What does "It is hard for a mot to get more juste than that" mean?
Background info:
* I am aware that 'scrumping' will not be familiar to American readers. But I enjoy
reading unfamiliar American words and looking them up to broaden my vocabu-
lary. I have deliberately used a few other region-specific words for this reason.
Scrumping itself is a mot juste of unusual economy. It doesn't just mean stealing:
it specifically means stealing apples and only apples. It is hard for a mot to get
more juste than that. Admittedly the Genesis story doesn't specify that the fruit
was an apple, but tradition has long held it so.
Background info:
* I am aware that 'scrumping' will not be familiar to American readers. But I enjoy
reading unfamiliar American words and looking them up to broaden my vocabu-
lary. I have deliberately used a few other region-specific words for this reason.
Scrumping itself is a mot juste of unusual economy. It doesn't just mean stealing:
it specifically means stealing apples and only apples. It is hard for a mot to get
more juste than that. Admittedly the Genesis story doesn't specify that the fruit
was an apple, but tradition has long held it so.
Top answer
"mot juste" is a set phrase (from French) meaning a word that is exactly right for a particular situation. "mot" = "word" and "juste" = "right/appropriate", so "It is hard for a mot to get more juste than that" means "It is hard for a word to get more right/appropriate than that". The author is playing with words by breaking up the set phrase and using the French words for their individual meanings in a way that would not normally be done in English.
- "mot juste" is a set phrase (from French) meaning a word that is exactly right for a particular situation.
- "mot" = "word" and "juste" = "right/appropriate", so "It is hard for a mot to get more juste than that" means "It is hard for a word to get more right/appropriate than that".
- The author is playing with words by breaking up the set phrase and using the French words for their individual meanings in a way that would not normally be done in English.
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1 Answers
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"mot juste" is a set phrase (from French) meaning a word that is exactly right for a particular situation. "mot" = "word" and "juste" = "right/appropriate", so "It is hard for a mot to get more juste than that" means "It is hard for a word to get more right/appropriate than that". The author is playing with words by breaking up the set phrase and using the French words for their individual meanin
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