Les Bons Mots: How to Amaze Tout Le Monde with Everyday French

You may have taken French for Tourists, but what do you do when you're positive that guy just said "the mustard went up my nose"? Turn to page 170 of Les Bons Mots and you'll learn that he blew his cool. Written by word maven Eugene Ehrlich (author of The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinarily Literate), this cleverly written guide to everyday, idiomatic French gives pronunciation, common translations, and brief discussions of over a thousand words and phrases, most of which you'll never see in a pocket phrasebook.

From à bas (down with) to zut alors (darn it!), you'll find oddly used words, figures of speech, and oft-quoted lines from French historical figures. Especially helpful for those of us who haven't spoken French since eighth grade is the pronunciation guide to the more difficult sounds for English speakers. A little study and practice with this fun book and you'll never hear "il écorche le français" again. (Or at least you'll know that it means "he murders the French language"!) --Rob Lightner