Foreign Phrases

Question 1

a posteriori

Answer 1

based on inductive reasoning

Question 2

a priori

Answer 2

based on deductive reasoning

Question 3

ad hoc

Answer 3

for a specific purpose

Question 4

alter ego

Answer 4

a second self

Question 5

amicus curiae

Answer 5

friend of the court

Question 6

beau geste

Answer 6

noble gesture

Question 7

bête noire

Answer 7

someone or something particularly disliked; literally, “black beast”

Question 8

bon mot

Answer 8

witty remark or comment; literally, “good word”

Question 9

bona fide

Answer 9

in good faith; genuine

Question 10

carpe diem

Answer 10

seize the day

Question 11

carte blanche

Answer 11

unrestricted power; literally, “blank document”

Question 12

casus beli

Answer 12

pretext for war

Question 13

caveat emptor

Answer 13

let the buyer beware

Question 14

corpus delicti

Answer 14

body of the crime; substantial fact necessary to prove the commission of a crime

Question 15

de facto

Answer 15

actual

Question 16

de jure

Answer 16

by right; technically true

Question 17

deus ex machina

Answer 17

contrived device to resolve a situation; literally, “god from a machine”

Question 18

dies irae

Answer 18

day of wrath; Judgement Day

Question 19

dolce vita

Answer 19

the sweet life; a life of indulgence

Question 20

ecce homo

Answer 20

behold the man

Question 21

ex cathedra

Answer 21

by virtue of one’s office

Question 22

ex parte

Answer 22

from a partisan point of view

Question 23

ex post facto

Answer 23

after the fact; retroactively

Question 24

fait accompli

Answer 24

an accomplished fact; a done deed

Question 25

faux pas

Answer 25

social blunder; literally, a “false step”

Question 26

hoi polloi

Answer 26

the common people

Question 27

idée fixe

Answer 27

obsession; literally, “fixed idea”

Question 28

in camera

Answer 28

in private; secretly

Question 29

in extremis

Answer 29

near death

Question 30

in loco parentis

Answer 30

in the place of a parent

Question 31

in vino veritas

Answer 31

in wine there is truth

Question 32

ipso facto

Answer 32

by the fact itself; as an inevitable result

Question 33

joie de vivre

Answer 33

joy of living; buoyant enjoyment of life

Question 34

mea culpa

Answer 34

I am to blame

Question 35

memento mori

Answer 35

a reminder that you must die

Question 36

modus operandi

Answer 36

method of operating

Question 37

mot juste

Answer 37

the appropriate word

Question 38

nolo contendere

Answer 38

no contest

Question 39

non sequitur

Answer 39

something that does not logically follow

Question 40

nota bene

Answer 40

note well

Question 41

persona non grata

Answer 41

unwelcome person

Question 42

prima facie

Answer 42

on the face of it

Question 43

pro bono

Answer 43

free of charge; literally, “for good”

Question 44

pro forma

Answer 44

done as a matter of form; perfunctory

Question 45

quid pro quo

Answer 45

an equal exchange; literally, “this for that”

Question 46

quo vadis

Answer 46

where are you going

Question 47

rara avis

Answer 47

rare bird; an unusual specimen

Question 48

sangfroid

Answer 48

self-possession or equanimity, especially under strain; literally, “cold blood”

Question 49

schadenfreude

Answer 49

enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others; literally, “harm joy”

Question 50

sic transit gloria mundi

Answer 50

thus passes away the glory of the world

Question 51

sine qua non

Answer 51

something indispensable; literally, “without which not”

Question 52

sui generis

Answer 52

one of a kind

Question 53

tabula rasa

Answer 53

a blank slate

Question 54

tout le monde

Answer 54

all the world; everyone of importance

Question 55

veni, vidi, vici

Answer 55

I came, I saw, I conquered

Question 56

vox populi

Answer 56

voice of the people

Question 57

weltanschauung

Answer 57

a comprehensive apprehension of the world; literally, “world view”

Question 58

weltschmerz

Answer 58

sorrow over the evils of the world; literally, “world pain”