"quel fromage"

[George Thompson]

Isn't it a joke, upon "quel domage" -- "how terrible"?

GAT

George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.

----- Original Message -----
From: Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
Date: Friday, February 20, 2009 1:58 am
Subject: Re: "quel fromage"
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU

> On Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 8:28 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> >
> > I am totally lacking in French phrases as adopted into English.  Can
> > "quel fromage" mean "what a mess"?
>
> I've heard it used to mean "How cheesy!" (in the tacky/corny sense of
> "cheesy").
>
>
> --Ben Zimmer
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org