In the US, one of the few French words that most of us Americans think we know is "hors d'œuvres"-- to us, it means appetizers. Yet, "hors d'œuvres" isn't an option in the context of a NY Eve party in France? I think of an "amuse-bouche" being something that is served between courses in an elaborate meal, a "canapé" is something on a cracker (savory biscuit), and a "petits fours" is a tiny cube of cake, frosted with a ganache and decorated daintily. Can someone please clarify?
des hors d'œuvres vs des amuse-bouches vs canapés vs petits fours?!
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des hors d'œuvres vs des amuse-bouches vs canapés vs petits fours?!
Hi Adrienne,
The word 'hors d'œuvres' is not accepted for 'appetizers' as in France it means a starter or a first course and is more substantial than a petit four, canapé or amuse-bouche which are mouthful size-titbits ( of varying shapes ) served before the first course in a special meal.
Another word for hors d'œuvre is entrée in France. This is used differently in English too I believe.
It sometimes happens that an imported foreign word is used slightly differently in situ and these are such examples.
Hope this helps!
And now, after completing another exercise on NY Eve I see that "amuse-gueles" is yet another word for appetizers!
Ah! Adrienne, I didn't mention 'amuse-gueules' but it was accepted in both exercises. The reason is that nowadays it seems more polite to say 'amuse-bouches'.
The word 'gueule' whose prime meaning is the mouth of certain animals is used for countless expressions deemed 'populaires' ( think 'common' ) and is considered vulgar nowadays.
https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/gueule/38539
When I was growing up in France amuse-bouches didn't exist and 'amuse-gueule' or 'canapé' would have been the word for an appetizer.
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