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louche (loosh) adjective
Of questionable character; dubious; disreputable. [From French louche, cross-eyed, from Old French lousche, feminine of lois, from Latin lusca, feminine of luscus, one-eyed.] "They wanted her to be a dancer, but the teenage Bardot fell in with the louche and devious film-maker Roger Vadim, and became the notorious Girl In A Bikini instead." Adam Sweeting, Channel Surfing: Zouzou Exposed, The Guardian (UK), Nov 7, 1998. A popular admonition goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Yet we do it all the time. We ascribe qualities of character to people based on their physical characteristics. And our language takes shape to reflect that attitude. Are cross-eyed people shady? I don't think so. At least not any more than the straight-eyed ones. In this week's AWAD we look at more such words. -Anu ............................................................................ Through all the world there goes one long cry from the heart of the artist: Give me leave to do my utmost. -Isak Dinesen (pen name of Karen Blixen), author (1885-1962) Send your comments about words to anu@wordsmith.org. To subscribe or unsubscribe A.Word.A.Day, send a message to wsmith@wordsmith.org with "Subject:" line as "subscribe <Your Name<" or "unsubscribe". Archives, FAQ, gift subscription form, and more at: http://wordsmith.org/awad/ Pronunciation: http://wordsmith.org/words/louche.wav http://wordsmith.org/words/louche.ram
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