autem mort
1. obsolete A woman who is married. "Autem" is an obsolete slang word for church, and "mort" is obsolete slang for a woman or girl. Your courtship is wasted, my friend, for she is an autem mort already. I hope you're enjoying life as an autem mort, since you haven't been married that long! They can call me a spinster, I don't care. I've just never had any interest in becoming an autem mort.
2. obsolete A beggar woman who carries about several children and affects to have great devotion to the church or religion, generally as a means of arousing sympathetic charity from others. "Autem" is an obsolete slang word for church, and "mort" is obsolete slang for a woman or girl. The autem morts with their wailing children cluster at the steps of the church for alms. Just walk past—she's an autem mort who always hangs around here looking for money. She insists she had to become an autem mort after her husband died, but I'm pretty sure he left her a sizable chunk of money—that she must have spent.
bon mot
proverb 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. Though she became very physically incapacitated as she grew older, my grandmother could always come up with a bon mot until the day she died.
the mot juste
The precise word you want to use; the exactly right word. The phrase is French for "right word." When I'm writing, there's no better feeling than having the mot juste come right into your head for what you're trying to express.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.