Knowledge

/

ArcaMax

Today's Word "contretemps"

An inopportune event on

Published in Vocabulary

contretemps \KAHN-truh-tahn\ (noun) - An inopportune or embarrassing situation or event; a hitch.

"For the moment, the author goes from contretemps to contretemps. I have nothing against contretemps. I adore the Inferno. But how could I read it if I didn't know in advance that Dante won't let himself be turned away at the last minute from Paradise?" -- Helene Cixous, 'Firstdays of the Year'

 

Contretemps comes from French, from contre, "against" (from Latin contra) + temps, "time" (from Latin tempus).


 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Related Channels

Danny Seo

EcoTips

By Danny Seo
Rob Kyff

The Word Guy

By Rob Kyff

Comics

John Branch Lee Judge Mike Beckom Breaking Cat News Marshall Ramsey Jeff Koterba