bon mot

bon mot

A clever or witty retort. Brett was teased quite often by his peers, but he always responded quickly with a bon mot, causing everyone to erupt into laughter.
See also: bon, mot
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • zinger
  • l'esprit de l'escalier
  • staircase wit
  • let fly with
  • let fly with (something)
  • egg in (one's) beer
  • egg in your beer
  • your mom
  • spurt out from (something)
  • spurt out of (something)
References in periodicals archive
A routine so badly scripted it would surely have gone down in history had Lineker not followed it up with an even worse one with Claudio Ranieri - that well known master of the bon mot (as long as it's in Italian).
Ian Hyland's TV Week: BBC.. no sport and zero personalities
Such combinations were powerful: he would lovingly support a young architect or student who he would feel to be sincere and engaged, but he could waspishly send a bon mot out to a member of the audience who was leaving early.
The man who changed England
(Broadcast reporters and talking heads in search of le bon mot often imitate Mr.
From Stephen McCormick re Stockland column. (Letters to the Editor)
As for the religious experience versus doctrine comparison, that was a Joseph Campbell bon mot. He defined religious doctrine as `a defense against religious experience.' If seeing visions of wheels within wheels or hearing the Lord of the Universe thunder in your ear is too scary for you, immerse yourself in doctrines, especially arguments about doctrines, and you'll never have to worry about having direct experiences of the Great Unknown ever again.
Disability, Spirituality, and the Mapping of the Human Genome
Examples that leap to mind are genre, angst, modus operandi, noblesse oblige, wunderkind, bon mot, film noir, nouveau riche, elan, idiot savant, chutzpah, bon mot, du jour.
Foreign phrases require judicious use
Haw!" The ancient saint was doubtless unaware of Big Hef's indiscreet bon mot, and allowed him, like a balloon Falstaff in the Macy's Parade, to escort her to the podium.
Political piety
When loosing a bon mot against politicians in The New York Review of Books or chortling his way through a review of the current vulgar best sellers, Gore Vidal is more intent on turning the arch phrase than on presenting an idea; political ideas, especially, are for him mere excuses to display his exquisite moves.
Who's a snob and who's not
Kate Beckinsale, as Lady Susan Vernon, savours every acid-laced bon mot with relish, observing that "facts are horrid things" as she stacks one tiny fib atop another.
dvd releases three to see; Missed it at the cinema or on TV? We round up the best DVD releases of the week
Il y a quelques semaines, un bon mot d'un responsable politique avait pris une resonance inedite et interessee.
Le temps des voyeurs
Andrew Brown, Edinburgh A Who else but the mistress of the bon mot, Mae West (1892-1980).
THE MAN INTHE KNOW
In the end, the eleven chapters/essays read most like a sophisticated and stimulating after-dinner conversation with much wit and many a dazzling insight and bon mot. The brief last chapter, which is skillfully built around the counterpositions of Gunter Grass and Martin Walser, is both ingenious and refreshingly fair after the often acerbic reactions on both sides of the Atlantic to Walser's 1998 Peace Prize speech.
The Seduction of Culture in German History
As Rifbjerg says with a French bon mot about this kind of existence, "C'est bien banal, mais c'est quand meme emouvant." This is true of Synderegistret as well.
Synderegistret: En angergivens betragtninger
Save The Last Dance For Me Malvern Festival Theatres HHHII It was Oscar Wilde who wrote: "Relations are simply a tedious pack of people, who haven't got the remotest knowledge of how to live, nor the smallest instinct about when to die.' Wilde's bon mot was directed (in The Importance of Being Earnest) at the Victorian ruling class but, as this musical shows, it proves just as true for the slightly demented working class family we get here, where two sisters struggle to break free from parental sermonising by taking a brief caravan holiday in Lowestoft, where the wind on the prom blows cold and the rain comes down (this was in the 60s when flights to the Med were unaffordable for many people).
THEATRE REVIEW; ....
A Noel Coward, master of the bon mot, was impressed by the stunning cinematography of David Lean's epic 1962 classic starring Peter O'Toole.
Showbiz; THE MAN IN THE KNOW
"A MOMENT'S thought could save a lifetime of heartache", so claims the bon mot on my calendar.
THOUGHT for the DAY