A FRENCH VEST POCKET DICTIONARY

Containing such words and phrases, together with their pronunciation and meaning, as are necessary to the proper and complete understanding of the American “society play” in which they are generally employed.

Word or Phrase	Pronunciation	Meaning
beau idéal	bue idol	To smoke a cigarette in a long holder.
au fait	aw fête	To wear an artificial gardenia in the lapel of one’s evening coat.
comme il faut	comma ill faugh	Literally: “As it should be.” To appear in the drawing-room in white tennis flannels.
billet doux	Billie Deuce	Anything written on lavender stationery.
bon soir	bun sour	Greetings!
valet	valley	A comedy-relief Jap.
ennui	en-wee	To glance nonchalantly through Town Topics, yawn and throw it back on the table.
égalité	egg-all-light	Literally: “equality.” A servant who, learning that his master is in financial straits, offers him, with tears in his eyes, his own meagre savings.
double entente	dub’l on-tunder	Any remark about a bed.
distingué	dis-tang-way	A gentleman with a goatee.
Céléste[2]	Seal-lest	The lady-friend of the producer.
coup d’état	coop de tate	Sneaking the married heroine unobserved out of the bachelor apartment by letting her wear the housekeeper’s cloak.
gendarme	John Domme	An English actor in a New York traffic policeman’s uniform.
entrée	entry	A papier-maché duck.
faux pas	for Pa	To wear the handkerchief in the pocket.
petite	potate	Designation of the one hundred and seventy-two pound ingénue.
qui vive	key weave	To step quickly on tiptoe to the door and listen, before going on with the conversation.
sang froid	sang freud	Leisurely to extract a cigarette from a gold cigarette-case.
garçon	gar-sun	A bad actor who imitates Figman’s performance in “Divorcons.”
en déshabillé	N. de Shabell	Literally: “In undress.” That is, dressed up in a couple of thousand dollars’ worth of lingerie.
mésalliance	mess alliance	Any girl whom the son of the family desires, in the first act, to marry.
en règle	in riggle	A butler who waits until the visitor has entered the drawing-room before taking his hat and stick.
à la mode	allah mode	Tea at two o’clock in the afternoon.

[2] The maid.