French Letters and the English Canon

A witty and informative A-Z guide to French words and phrases borrowed by the English, presented in giftbook format.Boudoir n. - a lady's sitting or dressing-room, often today wrongly used to denote a bedroom. In fact, a boudoir, derived from the French bouder - to pout or sulk - means a 'sulking room', a place where a woman may engage in prolonged emotional blackmail in considerable comfort. In common English usage since 1777.