I've been instructing the boy on the value of memorizing quotes. I assign him 10 or 20 quotes to have memorized, and without fail he hasn't memorized a single one.
So I'm trying to make it a little more interesting by sprinkling them into conversation, this week it's French Phrases.
"Entre Chien et Loupe"
Meaning literally between a tame thing (dog) and a very wild thing (wolf). While I'm sure it could be used any number of ways the example I remember was early evening - between the civilized decorum of the day and the rather wilder evening.
"Je ne sais quoi"
To describe something as having a certain "I don't know", used frequently by salespeople to sell one on an outlandish fashion. Generally it has a positive connotation, but not necessarily, for example if a girlfriend shows you her new hand-made macrame sweater, you could say that it had a certain "Je ne sais quoi" - a generally tactful way of not saying anything at all.
"Belle Laide"
Literally, "Beautiful Ugly". To describe a woman who, while not conventionally attractive or beautiful, nevertheless has a certain something....