The French Invasion

The French language leads the “English Invasion”

Cul-de-sac

Cul (coll./vulgar) = bottom, ass,de (preposition) = from, of, sac = bag
Bottom of the bag – And lots of people want houses on these?!?!

RSVP = répondez s’il vous plaît

Répondez, = to reply, to answer, s’il vous plaît = please – a compound of s’ (abbrev. of si) = if, il = he/it, vous = you (formal), plaît  = to care for, to please]
Reply, if it pleases you.

Chaise longue

Chaise = chair, longue = long
Long chair.

Crème brûlée

Crème = cream, brûlée (participe passé of brûler = to burn) = burnt
Burnt cream.

Du jour

Du (de = from, of + le = the) = of the jour = day
Of the day.

Café au lait

Café = coffee, au (à = in; with + le = the) = in/with the lait = milk
Coffee with milk.

Carte blanche

Carte = card, blanche (feminine form of blanc) = white
White card.

Comme ci, comme ça

Comme = like, ci = this, ça = that
Like this, like that.

Eau de toilette

Eau = water, de = from, of, toilette = toilette, wash [toiletter = to groom]
Grooming water.