Comments on: 6 Foreign Expressions You Should Know

By: Gaël

Gaël — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:14:38 +0000

One of my favorites is “Dum spiro spero”, which means “While I breathe, I hope”.
Bye.

By: Chuck R.

Chuck R. — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:16:04 +0000

I agree with those who think the list is a great start but a bit short.

Off the top of my head, I’d add: raison d’etre (reason of being?) and quid pro quo (reciprocating). Any foreign version of “goodbye” has a certain panache.

Sayonara.

By: az

az — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 18:50:57 +0000

I always thought cul-de-sac meant no entry. I didn’t know it meant dead end. I am so glad I know what it means.

By: AltMichael

AltMichael — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:00:30 +0000

Let me make my educated attempt at “affect” and “effect”.

As a verb:
“affect” means to have an influence on something; to change it
“effect” means to bring something into being
Some languages use different tenses for affected objects and effected objects.

As a noun:
The nominalization of both “affect” and “effect” is “effect”, which is very confusing.
“Affect” as a noun has the additional meanings stated above.

And to agree with a previous poster, I have always heard “cul-de-sac” to refer to a dead end street with a rounded end, there usually being at least 3 houses on the rounded part.

Here’s a foreign expression I love, “That wants to be a ” for something that’s not up to standards. It comes from German. I’ve never heard it used in English.

By: Improve Your Writing Skills - Do You Know These Foreign Expressions? — Stop Writing Crap!

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:30:35 +0000

[...] are pretty decent that you probably already are. But just in case, have a peak at the article 6 Foreign Expressions You Should Know from Daily Writing [...]