Foreign Phrases Flashcards by Tia Dennis

Q

A priori

A

Based on deductive reasoning

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Q

Ad hoc

A

For a specific purpose

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Q

Alter ego

A

A second self

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Q

Amicus curiae

A

Friend of the court

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Q

Beau geste

A

Noble gesture

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Q

Bête noir

A

Someone/something disliked; literally “black sheep”

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Q

Bon mot

A

Witty remark; literally “good word”

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Q

Bona fide

A

In good faith; genuine

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Q

Carpe diem

A

Seize the day

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Q

Carte blanche

A

Unrestricted power; literally “blank document”

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Q

Causus beli

A

Cause for war

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Q

Caveat emptor

A

Let the buyer beware

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Q

Corpus delicti

A

Body of the crime; substantial fact needed to prove the commission of a crime

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Q

De facto

A

Actual

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Q

De jure

A

By right; technically true

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Q

Deus ex machina

A

Contrived device to resolve a solution; literally “God from a machine”

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Q

Dies irae

A

Day of wrath; judgement day

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Q

Dolce vita

A

The sweet life; a life of indulgence

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Q

Ecce homo

A

Behold the man

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Q

Ex cathedra

A

By virtue of one’s office

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Q

Ex parte

A

From a partisan point of view

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Q

Ex post facto

A

After the fact; retroactively

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Q

Fait accompli

A

A done deed

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Q

Faux pas

Study These Flashcards

A

Social blunder; literally “false step”

Hoi polloi

The common people

Idée fixe

Obsession

In camera

In private; secretly

In extremis

Near death

In loco parentis

In place of a parent

In vino veritas

In wine there is truth

Ipso facto

By the fact itself; as an inevitable result

Joie de vivre

Joy of living

Mea culpa

My bad; I am to blame

Memento mori

A reminder that you must die

Modus operandi

Method of operating; style

Mot juste

The appropriate word

Nolo conteste

No contest

Non sequitur

Something that does not follow logically

Nota bene

Note well

Persona non grata

Unwelcome

Prima facie

On the face of it

Pro bono

Free of charge

Pro forma

Perfunctory actions

Quid pro quo

This for that

Quo vadis

Where are you going

Rara avis

Rare bird; an unusual specimen

Sangfroid

Self possession of equanimity, especially under stress.

Schadenfreude

Enjoy the pain of others

Sic transit gloria mundi

Thus passes the glory of the world

Sine qua non

Something indispensable

Sui generis

One of a kind

Tabula rasa

A blank slate

Tout de monde

All the world; everyone of importance

Veni vidi vici

I came, I saw, I conquered

Vox populi

Voice of the people

Weltschmerz

Sorrow over all the evil in the world

Weltanschauug

A comprehensive apprehension of the world

A posteriori

Based on inductive reasoning