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

A

Social blunder; literally “false step”

Q

Hoi polloi

A

The common people

Q

Idée fixe

A

Obsession

Q

In camera

A

In private; secretly

Q

In extremis

A

Near death

Q

In loco parentis

A

In place of a parent

Q

In vino veritas

A

In wine there is truth

Q

Ipso facto

A

By the fact itself; as an inevitable result

Q

Joie de vivre

A

Joy of living

Q

Mea culpa

A

My bad; I am to blame

Q

Memento mori

A

A reminder that you must die

Q

Modus operandi

A

Method of operating; style

Q

Mot juste

A

The appropriate word

Q

Nolo conteste

A

No contest

Q

Non sequitur

A

Something that does not follow logically

Q

Nota bene

A

Note well

Q

Persona non grata

A

Unwelcome

Q

Prima facie

A

On the face of it

Q

Pro bono

A

Free of charge

Q

Pro forma

A

Perfunctory actions

Q

Quid pro quo

A

This for that

Q

Quo vadis

A

Where are you going

Q

Rara avis

A

Rare bird; an unusual specimen

Q

Sangfroid

A

Self possession of equanimity, especially under stress.

Q

Schadenfreude

A

Enjoy the pain of others

Q

Sic transit gloria mundi

A

Thus passes the glory of the world

Q

Sine qua non

A

Something indispensable

Q

Sui generis

A

One of a kind

Q

Tabula rasa

A

A blank slate

Q

Tout de monde

A

All the world; everyone of importance

Q

Veni vidi vici

A

I came, I saw, I conquered

Q

Vox populi

A

Voice of the people

Q

Weltschmerz

A

Sorrow over all the evil in the world

Q

Weltanschauug

A

A comprehensive apprehension of the world

Q

A posteriori

A

Based on inductive reasoning