bon mot
4
9.3
- noun
- /bɒn moʊ/
- Formal
:
bon mot
- She is known for her sharp wit and often shares a bon mot during our meetings to lighten the mood.
- the best bon mot
Examples
-
Here are some choice bon mots:
Blog text (21) -
Their virtues, their deeds, their travels, their bons mots, were reliable signposts to information of every kind—experiences, opinions, addresses.
Fiction book (1993) -
Just goes to show how a bon mot can pass the test of time.
Blog text (6) -
Then they both cracked up, as if some hilarious bon mot had passed between them.
Fiction book (1998) -
Her recent bons mots include, "Are those love handles, or are you growing wings?"
Fiction book (2000) -
We don't see each other for months, and then you blast in without a care and condemn me with your bon mots.
-
Faced with this bon mot, Wilde and their other dining companions responded with embarrassed sniggers.
Academic text (2011) -
Reflections, observations, random thoughts, and bon mots: strolling the literary and geographic landscapes of American history.
Blog text (3) -
SNL had its "wild and crazy guys" and "Jane, you ignorant slut," and 30 Rock gave us terrific bon mots like "I want to go to there" and "Is that a thing?"
Blog text (19) -
At the dinner party, he entertained everyone with a clever bon mot that made us all laugh.
Synonyms
19
8.1
A short clever remark that surprises and amuses people
5
7.2
A clever short remark meant to make people laugh
4
9.9
A short clever remark that often makes people laugh
A short clever remark or piece of writing that is playful
A quick, clever comment that is slightly cheeky
How Witty
Surface Forms
Morphology
bon + mot
Bon mot is a French loan used in English for ‘a witty remark’; its literal parts ('bon' = good, 'mot' = word) only indirectly point to this sense. A learner who actually knows the French constituents might infer something like 'a good word' and guess the intended meaning, but the mapping is indirect and not a standard English compositional pattern, so predictability is limited.
Etymology
Bon mot comes from the French words bon ('good') and mot ('word'). Picture a clever line in a French salon called a 'good word', and that's why Bon mot means 'a witty remark'.