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Apr 15, 2009
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Terms from French

This week's words
passe-partout
tranche
beau monde
bien-pensant
pas de deux

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

beau monde

PRONUNCIATION:
(BO mond)

MEANING:
noun: The world of fashion; high society.

ETYMOLOGY:
From French, literally, fine world.

USAGE:
"The wealthy can be entertainingly absurd, as in Hannah Greig's enjoyable account of the struggles of the Countess of Strafford to be accepted as a leader of London's beau monde in the early 18th century."
John Mullan; Vex'd by Wallpaper; The Guardian (London, UK); Aug 18, 2007.

See more usage examples of beau monde in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
How easy to be amiable in the midst of happiness and success. -Madame Anne Sophie Swetchine, mystic (1782-1857)

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