French Words - Le Mot Juste

 

French words and expressions in Wodehouse - A lexicographical inventory

Hundreds of French words and phrases are scattered throughout the works of P.G. Wodehouse. This webpage is a dedicated page and the repository of all those French words, so that one and all may access it, either to find the meaning of a specific word or expression, or for scholarly research into the phenomenon of Wodehouse's use of French. It has been called Le Mot Juste - an expression often used by Wodehouse and found in this inventory.

How to use Le Mot Juste

1. A word or an expression is followed by a translation and by a code. With thanks for their kind permission the code is based upon Garrison & Midkiff's Who's who in Wodehouse. For novels it consists of two letters and a two-digit year's date that indicate the novel, and an oblique stroke and a number, which is the number of the chapter in which it is found. For a short story you will see date digits and two letters. In some novels the chapters are divided into numbered sections; if there is a hyphen and a number this will indicate the section within the chapter. If you scroll down the alphabet you will find a listing of all novels, and further down all short stories, that have been vetted for French words - even the two books in which not a single word of French was found. For finding out more about coding and about Who's Who in Wodehouse, you may want to go the website Madame Eulalie.

2. The inventory is strictly alphabetical, on the basis of the French expressions (in full) and words as found in the text. Thus, for example, we will find En secondes noces under E, Noblesse oblige under N and Tout ce qu'il y a de chic under T (taken at random from Right Ho, Jeeves chapt. 2 and 4). Although this might worry a lexicographer, this is not a dictionary proper but a tool for those of us whose knowledge of the French language is more limited than Wodehouse's, and thus a reader's aid.

3. In this context it may be noted that several French words such as pince-nez, lieu and role or rôle have become accepted in the English language as used in the UK and/or in the USA (and are found in dictionaries). Such words are only taken up in the Inventory if they are not in everyday usage, as judged by the initiators.

4. Those who find French words or expressions not in Le Mot Juste, if located in North America, are invited to send them to Ken Clevenger and others to Ole van Luyn. Ken and Ole initiated the Inventory and act as its editors.

5. Articles. English definite articles are simple, one of a kind: the. French has two different ones, a language such as German has three, as have classic Latin and Greek. French definite articles are le and la. These are called the two genders, feminine and masculine. The concept of gender is unrelated to the biological concept of the male or female sex. A table is feminine in French but masculine in German.
For alphabetical listing words In Le Mot Juste the article is ignored (but added in parentheses). You will find La belle France under B, and Le Mot Juste under M. However, the feminine article la may occasionally have a specific meaning, as you will find when you scroll down to the first two entries under the letter L.

6. The editors wish to thank Sophie Delhaes, Marcel Gijbels, Jeroen Hofland, Ian Michaud, Neil Midkiff and Josepha Olsthoorn for their assistance in finding mots français in the works of P.G. Wodehouse. They also are grateful to the P.G. Wodehouse Society (Netherlands) and in particular its president Peter Nieuwenhuizen for hosting Le Mot Juste, double-checking each entry and ensuring an attractive lay-out.

January 2022

A
Abandon: (a noun, not a verb) a feeling of being without a care in the world [NG07/Part 2/1]
Abattoir: slaughter-house [30TC]
Acharnement: fury, ferocity [PP67/2-1]
Addition: the bill, the tab [SF57/10, SF57/13]
Affaire: term for 'something a person does' which has many meanings and thus may be translated into different English words. Here 'the business with' would fit best [AS22/4, LC21/13]
Agincourt: a town in Northern France where the famous Battle took place in 1415 [CT58/1, RH34/1, UF39/9]
Aide de camp: an officer who is a General's assistant [PH31/19, UD48/3, UD48/5-1]
À la carte: following one's own choice from the dishes on the menu [GBTWB08/p.87]
À la king: chicken prepared in the manner of king, not a French but an American recipe from the late 1890s, possibly named after William King, a cook in Philadelphia [BW52/12]
À la maître d’hôtel: prepared according to the wishes of the maître d'hôtel (q.v.) [LW20/4-1]
Alors: so [12MC, HW32/10-1]
Amende honorable: admit that one was wrong and ask for forgiveness, to express self-criticism [PJ17/1, TY34/11, twice]
Ami de famille: a friend of the family [12MC]
Amour-propre: (high) esteem of oneself [BA73/14, BM31/8, CT58/6, JF54/2, MB42/5, OR51/10, SU63/9, TY34/9]
Am-parce: an attempt to pronunce impasse (q.v.) [SF48/2 and passim in SF48]
Ancien régime: the olden days – before the (French) Revolution [HW32/10-1]
Anglais: English (adjective), English person (substantive) [PF53/BB]
Apache: in French a word for villain, thief or ruffian [PJ15/4]
Aplomb: an attitude that conveys self confidence [LW20/19-1, PB69/8-1]
À propos: followed by a word or several words, means 'concerning…' or 'speaking of…' [MK09/47-53(MP)/18]. The expression 'à propos des bottes' (which should be 'de bottes') means something like 'unrelated to anything else' [LC21/12]
À quoi sert-il?: what's the use? [RH34/23]
Argot: slang, thieves' lingo, now mostly antiquated [IB61/10, JF54/9, OR51/15, RH34/7, SF57/4]
Armagnac: a product of distillation, not unlike Cognac, but differences in topography and soil make it, to the initiated, a quite different product [UF39/10]
Armentières: a French town near Lille and the scene of many battles in the First World War [IA21/22]
Armoire: a large, often ornate, piece of furniture, cupboard or cabinet made of wood [HR60/8, HR60/10]
Arrière-pensée: a hidden thought, a hidden intention [JF54/6]
Arsène Lupin: the fictitious famous 'gentleman-burglar' and detective, immortalised by Maurice Leblanc (1864-1941) [IJ10/1]
Assassin: murderer [HW32/12]
Attachés: persons, usually civil servants, who have been appointed to render specific services to those in high offices, such as ambassadors or royalty [SN15/5-3]
Au Coin de Livres: should be Au Coin du Livre, At the Corner Bookstore.
    In the Preface to the UK editions of Very Good, Jeeves, the French version of the encounter is faithful to the US English text but there are some additions in French for humour. "Yourself" is now "Popinot" a fanciful name, possibly borrowed from Balzac's Comédie Humaine. "Bookseller" is "Monsieur le marchand de livres" (should be Monsieur le libraire), "Quel beau temps aujourd'hui, n'est-ce pas?" means "Nice weather today, isn't it?" Just a bit of standard schoolboy French learning. Popinot agrees: "Absolutely." And then he asks for the two "Vodeouse" (Wodehouse) books: saying, again in Wodehouse's schoolboy French: "Do you have The Inimitable Jeeves and Carry On, Jeeves! by The Master, Wodehouse?"
    The text continues with four exchanges between the Marchand (Shopkeeper) and Popinot:
    M: But certainly, Sir.
    P: Give me the two, if you please.
    M: Yes, really, egad. And also the pen, the ink and the gardener's aunt? (jardinière should be jardinier)
    P: I don't care about that. I only want the Wodehouse.
    M: Not any shirts, neck-ties, or hair tonic?
    P: Only the Wodehouse, I assure you.
    M: Just so, Sir. Two and six for each item -- exactly five bob. (And here the nifty is the French shopkeeper saying, as if in French, "roberts", meaning the English slang for     shillings: bob.) And then they wish each other good day! [VGJ(Preface)]
Au contraire: contrariwise, quite the opposite [LW20//14-2]
Au courant: well informed, understood as having received or obtained all necessary information in a given context [SF57/4], UF39/14]
L'audace, l'audace et toujours l'audace: "De l'audace, toujours de l'audace et encore de l'audace" (meaning "boldness, always boldness and still more boldness") were the famous final words of Danton's speech to the French Assemblée Nationale on 2 September 1792 [UD48/10-3]
Au derrière: to the backside or rear end [03PC]
Au fond: literally: at bottom, meaning essentially, at the final analysis [LN13/Part II-2]
Au pied de la lettre: literally [RH34/13, RH34/15, SS61/1-1, SS61/5-1]
Au revoir: goodbye (literally: until we see each other again) [CT58/16, CW38/14, IW31/10, LB35/7, MK09/25, PF53/BB, PH31/7, UD48/14-2]
Au trot: rapidly, lively [FL56/7-4]
Avocat: a lawyer who speaks as a defender in a criminal court, or as the representative of a party in a civil court, barrister, solicitor [PH31/14]
Ay-coot-ay: phonetic transcription of an attempt to pronounce 'écoutez', meaning: listen [FL56/6-1]

B
Badinage: banter, amusing light conversation [IA21/16, MB42/5, MB42/13, PJ15/10, QS40/18]
Bagatelle: something without any importance [12MC, MB42/8, SM37/5]
Bal Bullier: while the word bal in French means a ball, a dancing event, it may also mean (as it does here) a dance-hall or ballroom. The eponymous ballroom was established in mid-19th century by François Bullier [GB65/6-1]
Ballet Russe: properly called les Ballets Russes, a touring company from 1909 to 1929, world-famous for its modernity in choreography and costumes, also performing to what was then ultra-modern music [23UD]
Banco: an Italian word, meaning in French casino games the person who is holding all players’ moneys while the game is on; a player shouting ‘Banco!’ volunteers to hold the bank, thereby certain to either win a large amount  or to lose it [34NO]
Barouche: a carriage for four persons and a driver. Inserted here because readers might assume (as possibly Wodehouse did) that it is a French word. It is English, from the German word Barutsche [SM37/19]
Bastille: state prison in Paris, stormed by a crowd on 14 July 1789 and thus the symbol of the French Revolution [BM31/1-1, LN13/ Part I-1]
Bavaroise: Wodehouse used the old feminine form of the word; nowadays it is a bavarois, i.e. a dessert before the cheese, or even instead of the cheese, often frozen, often with fruit or, as in 11AS, au rhum, with rum [11AS]
Beau (adjective): beautiful, fine, handsome [34NO, HW32/10-1]
Beau (substantive): an attractive man, a man someone is in love with [SM37/15]
Beau Rivage: literally 'beautiful shore'. As a cliché in the English language it became the name of countless homes, houses and hotels [SS25/29-1]
Beau sabreur: see Sabreur
Belle: the feminine form of the adjective beau (q.v.) but also used as a substantive, meaning a very attractive female person [IJ10/1]
Belle dame sans merci (la): title of Keats' ballad (1819) about a fairy who, after seducing a knight, condemns him to a nasty fate, a femme fatale (q.v.) of the early 19th century [SB77/3]
Belle France (la): beautiful France [FL56/10-4]
Bellerophon: not a French but a Greek name for the British ship that took Napoléon I, after Waterloo, to Saint-Helena [LB35-13]
Benedictine: properly spelt Bénédictine,  a popular liqueur from Fécamp, Normandy. Its monastic origins are doubtful [23US]
Bénédictins Blancs: literally, White Bénédictine Monks, although monks of that order wear black. The menu context makes it a dessert by that name, and Fiona Lucraft, in Wooster Sauce (dec.2023), knowingly suggests it is a little crisp biscuit (cookie) iced with a white, Bénédictine liquor-flavored icing [CW38/14]
Bête noir: should be bête noire, literally black animal, a person whom you dislike vehemently, an abomination [LN13/Part II-4,2, LW20/4-1]
Bezique: properly spelt Bézique or Bésigue, a French card game that also became popular in other countries in the 19th century, now virtually extinct [23DB]
Bien être: usually spelt bien-être, a pleasant feeling, due to the absence of physical and psychological pressure or tensions [BA73/11, BW52/11, CW38/3, CW38/9, FL56/4-3, GWTWB08/p.87, HR60/9, IB61/15, JF54/15, JM46/1, LG36/10, MB42/15, MO71/16, MS49/24, MS49/26, PP67/11-1, PP67/11-2, SF57/5]
Bijou (substantive): an elegant jewel or trinket [25CR]  
Bijou (adjective): used to qualify the following word as lovely, attractive or with the quality of a gem [26SL, 34FW, AA74/4, BC24/18, JM46/1, LG36/19]
Bijouterie: jewelry, trinkets etc. [GB65/7-4, IB61/26, JF54/18, JM46/3]
Bistro: a modest and rather simple restaurant, where clients may also drop in at any time of the day for a drink [JF54/2]
Blancmange: the French blanc-manger has been adopted in English cuisine and language. It is a wiggly, jiggly dessert jelly made with milk, almonds and sugar [34GB, BA73/1, BC24/17-3, BW52/14, IB61/12, IB61/22, IB61/25, IJ23/12, JM46/22, SM37/15, UF39/17]
Blase: properly spelt blasé, feminine blasée, tired of pleasure, having lost interest in fun, perhaps because of over-indulging [AS22/2-3, AS22/13-2, BC24/1-1, HW32/8-5, IW31/1, LB35/18, PF53/HDBD, PH02/14, SM37/25, UF39/3]
Blessée: wounded, hurt (referring to a female person) [AS22/2-3]
Bloc: a solid and homogenous mass [58WS]
Bois: wood, in this context probably the Bois de Boulogne, a famous extensively wooded park for walks or rides in Paris [PH31/14]
Bois de Boulong: an obvious reference to The Man who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, a popular music hall song, immortalized by Charles Coburn. The Bois de Boulogne is a large public park in Paris [IB61/23]
Bombe Néro: a spherical ice-cream dessert created by Escoffier (q.v.) with caramel-flavoured ice cream, vanilla mousse with chunks of chocolate, served on a sponge cake base and coated with meringue. On top, it has a small rum-filled pastry case and the whole thing is baked in an oven to firm the meringue and then served with the rum case on top a-light and the flaming sphere thus resembles a real bomb with a sputtering fuse [CW38/14]
Bon appetit: properly spelt appétit, means 'good enjoyment', which at the beginning of a meal participants wish each other, not unlike 'enjoy the food' [GB70/4]
Bon enfant: literally 'good child', an expression indicating a well-intended, friendly and even somewhat naïve person [FL56/6-1]
Bonhomie: being friendly, well-intentioned and open [24RA, BM31/4-1, BM31/13-1, IA21/6, IA21/15, IA21/19, IJ23/9, IJ23/11, LB35-14, PC10/9, PJ15/8]
Bon Marché: literally 'good market', means 'cheap' or 'a good deal'. It is also the name of a well-known Department Store in Paris, founded in 1838 [SS25/2]
Bonne-bouche: tasty morsel, titbit; also an expression used for something excellent one may receive after the repast is finished [BM31/10-2, FL56/1, PF53/BB]
Bon soir: good evening, usually bonsoir, in one word [AS22/2-4]
Bon ton: good manners, good taste, as in 'Bon Ton Drapery Stores' [29SC] and in 'Bon Ton Millinery Emporium' [23EB]
Bon viveurs: usually bons vivants: easy-going jovial gentlemen who enjoy life [GBTWB08/p.90]
Bottes: boots. However, in LC21/12 it is used as part of a French expression. See also À propos [LC21/12]
Boudoir: an elegant – and rather private - ladies' room [02SR, 33AH, 34GB, BA73/1, BW52/1, JF54/5, JF54/8, LB35/16, OR51/20, PB69/8-1, PB69/8-2, PW52/8, SM37/3]
Bouillabaisse: a Provençal (q.v.) soup based on fish from the Mediterranean sea, flavoured with saffron and other ingredients [QS40/18]
Bouillon: stock or broth. In 12GK Wodehouse uses it as a synonym of soup, changing the English expression 'in the soup' (meaning: in difficulties) into in the bouillon [12GK, 17JH, 34GB]
Bouillon Suprême: literally a supreme broth; in the context of 29SA a loose translation of 'Superb Soup' [29SA]
Boule: a general word for ball, small or large. Jouer à la boule, to 'play the boule' is a Casino game of chance [12TM, AS22/3-1, FL56/5-1]
Boulevardier: a dapper person strolling along the boulevards [59LA, AA74/2, BM31/4-1, LB35/15, MS49/13, RH34/22, SF57/15]
Boul' Mich': the popular abbreviation of Boulevard Saint-Michel, the main artery of the Rive Gauche (q.v.) in Paris [UD48/1]
Boulogne: a city and harbour on the English Channel, well-known as a holiday resort [IB61/10, IJ10/1]
Boum!: same as 'boom!', as it is spelt in French, but in the AS22 context probably the waiter's attempt to say 'bon' in 'the Anglo-Gallic dialect of the travelling Briton' [AS22/3-3]
Bourgeois: citizen, in a positive sense – certainly in this context [HW32/3]
Bourgeoisie: originally the class of citizens that opposed the aristocracy, it came to mean much later the capitalists' class, oppressing the proletariat [IJ23/11]
Bric-à-brac: a lot of old and odd objects, furniture, trinkets, clothing etc. [OR51/4]
Brouhaha: a confused sound of voices and noises, not the 'uproar' that Wodehouse suggests [FL56/7-4]
Buffet froid: in a restaurant a cold buffet, where one can choose from all that is on display [IA21/20]
Burjoisy: an attempt to pronounce Bourgeoisie (q.v.); similarly burjoise is an attempt to pronounce bourgeois, which is a member of the bourgeoisie [both in BM31/6-1]

C
Cachet: a characteristic sign, a mark of distinction [PP67/2-3]
Café (1): coffee [JF54/11]
Café (2): the place where one goes, sits, meets people and drinks coffee (and possibly other beverages) [10RH, 12MC, 58FL, BC24/17-1, JF54/11, PC10/18]
Café noir: black coffee [LW20/1-1]
Caisse: pay-desk [FL56/8-3]
Camaraderie: a strong friendship [BC24/3-2, BM31/7-1, IA21/12, TY34/18]
Cambrioleur: a burglar or cracksman [FL56/7-4]
Camembert: a French cheese, used here to refer to a person who just sits and as time goes by becomes increasingly soft, loses strength and purpose [MN28/7-2]
Canaille: uncouth, dishonest persons, rabble [IB61/13, LW20/10-1, PF53/27-8-1946]
Canard: literally a duck, but colloquially also an item of fake news [MB42/4]
Cannes: a French Mediterranean city, well-known as a holiday resort [26SL, 34NO, DB68/13-3, DB68/13-4, DB68/15, LG36/1, RH34/1]
Cantaloup: a small, round musk-melon, orange-coloured inside and named for an Italian region near Rome [CW38/14]
Caravanserai: should be spelt caravansérail, a place that is teeming with all kinds of people [MB42/12]
Carte blanche: originally a white paper upon which one could write one's own terms, now meaning the full freedom to spend any amount of money [IA21/2 & 11]
Cause célèbre: (1) scandal or lawsuit that attracts much media attention [BA73/1-2, GTBW08/p.101, MB42/4] or (2) a matter of great interest to others, or a big deal [UD48/3-2]
Caviar Frais: chilled caviar [CW38/14, JF54/11, SF57/18]
Cèpes à la Rossini: cep mushrooms with cream and truffle slices, as described by Auguste Escoffier around 1900 [RH34/11]
C'est fini: it's finished, it's over [12TM]
C'est terrible: it is very bad [TSA14Notes, essay]
C'est vrai: it's true [HW32/10-1]
Chaise-longue: literally a long chair, and thus the type of wooden frame folding chair often used in the garden to enjoy the sun, or indeed a nap [UD48/11-1, UD48/13-2]
Chamois: (1) an agile goat-size wild antelope found on Alpine and other European peaks [35TD, 48FO, 58RA, IJ23/15, LN13/Part II-8,3, SF57/15, SM37/2, TM22/2-3]; (2) as used in chamois leather: a type of soft leather, usually made from sheep or goat skin [UD48/14-4]
Champagne: a sparkling white wine from the Champagne area in North-Eastern France and not from anywhere else [UF39/10]
Chansonnette: whereas 'chanson' is a song, a chansonnette is a little song on a light or even comical subject [SS25/22-1]
Chartreuse: a herbal liqueur prepared under supervision of Carthusian monks [23US, UF39/10]
Château: castle [FL56/6-3, HW32/1, SM37/2 and in many other places]
Chatelaine: should be spelt châtelaine, the lady of the manor [AS22/19, BA73/8-5, CT58/9, DB68/5-2, LB35/15, MB42/3, SS25/2]
Chauffeuse: the feminine form of chauffeur, i.e. a female driver [25AG]
Chef: a professional cook in restaurant or hotel [11AS, BM31/10-1, RH34/8, SN15/5-6]
Chef d'oeuvre: masterpiece [TSA 13WO]
Chemin-de-fer: in French usually without the hyphens: (1) railroad, (2) a game of chance [HW32/7, UF39/4]
Chemise: undershirt. In context of e.g. betting on horses or playing the stock market: losing one's chemise is losing one's last penny [IJ23/11, QS40/12]
Cherchez: search, look for, try to find [NG07/Part 2/9]
Chéri: my love, my dear [FL56/6-5]
Chevalier Bayard: Pierre Terrail (1476–1524) was a French knight, known as the Chevalier de Bayard. He was and is still known as "the knight without fear and beyond reproach" [JF54/5, UD48/8-2]
Chez: in the home of ..… [29JL, 59JM, AA74/12, CT58/11, FL56/5-1, JM46/19, MS49/14, MS49/24, PF53/18-11-1952, SU63/11, TY34/17]
Chic: as a noun meaning elegance, character, originality and as an adjective meaning dressed with elegance and good taste [19SF, BM31/6-1, IJ10/13, LG36/24, SB27/4-2]
Cinquante: fifty [34NO]
Chroniques scandaleuses: publications that report true or not-so-true scandalous events of the day [SS25/16-1]
Chut!: shush! quiet! [12MC]
Cie.: see et Cie.
Ciel: heaven [LB35/1-4]
Citronade: a citron is a lemon, thus a citronade is a lemonade [FL56/6-2]
Clairvoyant: a person who supposedly can see mentally what cannot be observed in reality [BM31/1-2]
Clientèle: the total group of a shop’s customers [CW38/3]
Cochon: pig [10RH]
Cocotte: can mean a chicken, can be a term of endearment and it can mean a type of cooking pot. Here it is used in yet another meaning: a trollop [FL56/6-5]
Collaborateurs: colleagues, co-workers [GB04/8]
Comme ça: that way, like that [GBTWB08/p.56, LB35/1-3]
Commere and Compere: although originally French words they are used in 12TM in a more traditional British way, as the male and female music hall or revue (q.v.) cross-talk and comedy artists [12TM]
Commissaire (de police): Chief of police (US), Commissioner of Police (UK) [FL56/1 and elsewhere in FL56]
Comte: count [FL56/3]
Confrère: colleague [FL56/11-1]
Conge: correctly spelt congé, dismissal [12MC, BM31/6-1]
Connoisseur: as such not a French word but the English spelling of connaisseur, someone who has a specific knowledge, usually in the world of art or of taste in general [AS22/4, IA21/10, IA21/25, MB42/20, PJ15/10]
Connoozer: a New Yorker's pronunciation of connoisseur (q.v.) [IA21/2 & 9]
Consommé: a broth, usually made from chicken or other fowl [11AS, MK09/47, MK09/54-53(MP)/25]
Consommé aux Pommes d’Amour: a cold tomato soup made with a rich chicken broth flavoured with Marsala wine [CW38/14, JF54/11, SF57/18]
Conspuez: in the context of 'Conspuez le Prince!' the best translation might be 'Down with the Prince!'. It is the imperative of the verb 'conspuer', which means: as a group, to publicly and loudly manifest loathing and disgust against someone [PB12/16]
Conte: story, tale, narration [31FA, MS49/5, PB69/5, RH34/17]
Contretemps: events (the plural is the same as the singular) that are the unpleasant opposite of what one would have preferred or expected [22BC, 26TAG, 27JY, LW20/12-1, NG07/Part 2/20, PJ15/7, TY34/18]
Convenances: good manners, good taste [BC24/6-3]
Cordon bleu: a cutlet around which cheese and ham are rolled, breaded. It has also come to mean 'an excellent cook' [SF57/9]
Coriace: hard as leather, rugged. In view of the very slight semantic difference with dur (q.v.) Wodehouse, in the quote, humorously refers to Gustave Flaubert (see Mot juste, below) [GB65/3-1]
Cortège: procession, usually of a solemn or formal nature [PJ17/3]
Côte d'Azur: 'azure coast', a by-name bestowed in 1887 on part of the French Mediterranean coast, from Marseille to Menton [DB68/13-3] 
Cotelette-supreme-aux-choux-fleurs: correctly spelt côtelette suprême au chou-fleur, which is best translated as a 'suprême' style chop with cauliflower [29SA]
Côtelettes: chops or cutlets [31FA]
Cotillon: an obsolete French word for festive dances which survives in American English for certain formal balls [05BL]
Coup: a sudden and smart – perhaps even hazardous – action [34NO, MK09/24, MK09-53(MW)/24]
Coup de grâce: the last word is occasionally printed as grace. It is a deadly blow or stroke, often applied to end someone's (or some animal's) sufferings [05BB, NG07/Part 2/22, PU03/11, WH14/Book 2, 11]
Crayon: pencil [FL56/Preface]
Crayon est jaune/bleu (le): the pencil is yellow/blue [FL56/Preface]
Crèche: a day care or nursery, i.e. a centre where small children are looked after [BM31/7-1]
Crécy: a place in Northern France where in 1347 a major battle between the French and English armies took place [UF39/9]
Crème de menthe: a sweet (and usually green) mint-flavoured liqueur [23US, OR51/12, OR51/13, SW09/Part 1/7]
Crêpe: a particular type of tissue, product of a particular treatment, but also the term for a type of black tissue used for clothes and as well as for drapes as an indication of mourning [30JO]
Crêpe royale: a soft and supply flowing fabric that doesn't crease easily [HW32/2-1]
Critique: a critical analysis or evaluation [RH34/13-15]
Croisette: in full the Promenade de la Croisette, a popular road in Cannes (q.v.) along the Mediterranean Sea [34NO]
Croupier: casino staff member who turns the wheel of a roulette table and rakes the chips in [34NO, HW32/1-1, WH14/Book 2, 11]
Cuirassier: a mounted soldier clad in metal body armour [MK09/35-53(MP)/6]
Cuisine: kitchen. Also frequently the food that is prepared in a restaurant's kitchen [12MC]
Cul-de-sac: dead-end street [BM31/5-1, GB65/3-1, IW31/11, SN15/1-1]

D
Débonnaire: occasionally (wrongly) spelt débonair or similar: peaceful, pleasant, gentle; as in a person's demeanour [DD19/20, GBTWB08/p.121, LB35/15, MB42/27, PC10/15.PC10/22]
Débris: wreckage, scattered fragments after e.g. a violent storm or explosion [16JT, MK09/28, MK09-53(MW)/28]
Début: start, beginning, first appearance on stage etc. [AS22/2-3, GBTWB08/p. 107, PC10/2, SW09/Part 2/3]
Debutante: should be spelt débutante: a female person beginning an activity that is new to her. The word has entered the English-speaking world to mean the first appearance of a young girl in high society [26IC, BC24/2-3, PJ17/18]
Déjà vu: literally 'seen already' and generally used to indicate 'been there, done that' or 'nothing new' [MO71/1]
Déjeuner: lunch, whereas petit-déjeuner is breakfast [12MC, GBTWB08/p.87]
De luxe: luxurious, sumptuous [MN28/5-4, LN13/12-1, PF53/BB, TY34/13]
Demi-Mondaine: a rather 19th century name for a lady of dubious morals who may be the mistress of one or more well-to-do gentlemen [35UF]
Dénouement: the unravelling or solving of a complicated problem or situation [MK09-53(MW)/28] or the outcome [03WT, 25FF, 25WO, AS22/14-3]
Depôt: correctly spelt dépôt, in this context a dumping ground [HK04/12]
De rigueur: according to strict etiquette, obligatory [24RA, BM31/6-1, RH34/2, SF57/26]
Dernier cri: literally the last cry or shout, meaning the most recent thing in the world of fashion [BM31/6-1, GBTWB08/p.102]
Derniers comforts (les): the latest, most modern, comforts [FL56/10-4]
Derrière: behind – used, as in English, as an adjective, an adverb or a noun [IB61/14]
Déshabillé: loose and light informal clothes [HK04/7]
Détour: deviation, roundabout way [UM16/18]
De trop: superfluous, one too many, in the sense and context of 'he would have been de trop' [IA21/18]
Devoirs: a rare case of Wodehouse conflating a French and an English expression: présenter ses devoirs means to pay one's respects [NG07/Part 2/15]
Diablerie: devilry, mischievousness, used in a playful sense [JF54/1, MB42/2, MN28/5-2, SU63/1]
Diablotins: most probably a reference to Escoffier's (q.v.) recipe of very small gnocchi, poached, sprinkled with grated cheese and a hint of cayenne, and browned before serving [CW38/14, SF57/18]
Dieppe: an attractive city on the NW coast of France [IB61/21]
Dilettante: someone who may try something but has not got the training for it [TSA15Talking about Cricket essay]
Diligence: as a means of transport: a horse-drawn omnibus [NG07/Part 1/2]
Diner: not to be confused with the same word in American English, it is the main meal of the day, in the evening [CW38/14]
Directeur: chief executive, manager [12MC]
Distrait: absent-minded, thinking of other things [MK09/31, MK09/31-53(MP)/2, PJ17/8, TY34/20, UM16/13]
Distray: an attempt by an English-speaking person to pronounce distrait (q.v.) [LB35/15]
Donnez-le ici: a literal translation of 'Give it here' [LB35/1-4]
Donnez-moi le crayon de ma tante: the sentence, meaning 'give me the pencil of my aunt' is meant to be an example of the useless sentences English people were taught when they took lessons in French [FL56/Preface]
Dons: presents, gifts [FL56/2]
Dot: dowry, the capital a women brings with her when she marries [MB42/28]
Dur: hard, tough, hard-boiled (as said of a person) [GB65/3-1]

E
Eau de Cologne: its literal translation is ‘water from Cologne’. Possibly now somewhat old-fashioned, it is a light perfume on a base of alcohol, invented in 1709 in the German city of that name [CW38/7]
Eclair: correctly spelt éclair, a small glazed cake filled with cream, chocolate cream etc. [10MM, 10RH]
Éclat: with a shining, brilliant or even showy performance [LC21/11]
Edition de luxe: the protagonist has written an ode which he copied 'in his best handwriting', thus producing 'a sort of edition de luxe'. An édtion de luxe usually is a beautifully bound book, often a classic [GBTWB08/p.50, TSA 01PP]
Effleurage: in massage, a gentle touching [58FL]
Elan: correctly spelt élan, an amalgam of speed, enthusiasm and ardour [12SA, 12MC, CW38/4, PB69/8-1, PF53/30-10-1950, SB27/4-2]
Élite: top level people, particularly in terms of culture and education [GBTWB08/p.50, IB61/5]
Embonpoint: plumpness, corpulence [10RH, 29JL]
Embrassez-moi: embrace me [PF53/BB]
Employé: employee. The word, in singular or plural, is used ten times in PC10, of which two in the original French spelling, all other times in the English spelling. There does not seem to be a difference in meaning between both spellings [PC10/4 and elsewhere in PC10]
Employé attaché à l'expédition du troisième bureau: a title that could easily be understood by anglicising each of its words (troisième means 3rd) but which Wodehouse made up [FL56/2]
Employée: the feminine form of employé, which in English is spelt employee for both genders [14ST]
En brosse: a type of haircut, literally 'in the shape of a brush', a brushy look [HW32/2-1]
En casserole: in a casserole, which is a metal pan with a handle [FP29/14-3, GB65/8-3, UD48/4]
Encore: an adverb indicating a wish for repetition. In a concert hall a request for a repeat, in a restaurant: some more, please and in a conversation: can you say that again? [13ST, 15MM, FL56/8-1]
Encore de: more (in case one asks for more of the same). Thus encore du café means 'more coffee, please' [HW32/11-4] and encore de Martini cocktails needs no translation [IB61/18]. In correct French the word 'de' becomes du, de la or des depending on the gender of what is being ordered.
En déshabillé: in loose, informal clothing [RH34/22]
En famille: usually in the context of a get-together, a dinner or the like, meaning: without any formal to-do, relaxed and pleasant [35CM]
En masse: in great quantities, as one body [22BC, CW38/4, PH02/3, PJ15/23]
Ennui: boredom [CT58/7, IB61/9, IB61/25, SF57/8, SM37/16]
En prince: princely, similar to a prince [PC10/3]
En rapport: in relation, in touch (with), used in LB35 to mean a feeling of mutual sympathy and support [LB35/12, MB42/17, NG07/Part 1/2, PJ15/16]
En route: on his or her way [16JU, 28OO, AS22/3-1, GB65/7-4, GBTWB08/p.128, IJ10/15, IW31/1, LB35/19, LB35/21, QS40/2, TY34/3, UF39/9]
En secondes noces: in a second marriage [JF54/1, RH34/4]
Ensemble: a group of people together at the same time, for instance a group of musicians, of actors etc., who play or perform together [IA21/17, IJ23/15, LW20/14-1, LW20/16-2]
Entente: used here, in a rather Wodehousian sense, to mean 'understanding' or 'rapport' [PJ17/9]
Entente cordiale: literally a warm and friendly mutual understanding, and thus also the usual term for the 1904 French-British treaty [GB04/24, GBTWB08/p. 6 of pink insert, LC21/11, NG07/Part 2/20, PC10/9, PJ15/2]
Entr'actes: (usually spelt entractes) intermissions between acts of a theatre play [NG07/Part 2/26]
Entrechat: in ballet, a high leap during which the legs rapidly cross [IB61/23 PB69/7-3]
Entrée: in essence an entry from the outside into the inside. In 29SC it means access, with or without an invitation [29SC]
Epatant: correctly spelt épatant, brilliant, amazing [AS22/3-1]
Épingle: pin (as used e.g. in fabrics) [PF53/30-12-1944]
Épris: enamoured [IJ23/15]
Escoffier: Georges Auguste Escoffier (1846 –1935) was a famous French chef, the author of Le Guide Culinaire, one of the most famous French cookery books of all time. See also Pêche Melba [DB68/11-3]
Esker-vous avez un spot de l’encre et une pièce de papier - note-papier, vous savez - et une enveloppe et une plume?: an attempt to ask in basic schoolboy French: "Have you some ink and a piece of paper – note-paper, you know – and an envelope and a pen? [GB70/1-1, RH34/20]
Esker vous... Pourquoi vous ne... I mean ne vous... that is to say, quel est le raison..: an attempt to pronounce a simple sentence in French, but it comes out as 'Do you… Why don't you… I mean aren't you… that is to say, what is the reason…' [AS22/2-4]
Espèce de: might be read as “a kind of ...” or “a sort of ….”, but coupled with some noun commonly not nice, this term is the decent first half of a rude term of abuse. Thus, e.g., saying “espèce d’idiot” would mean “you bloody idiot” [34NO]
Espièglerie: liveliness with a touch of malice – but in a jocular and pleasant way [24RA, 27JY, CW38/4,  GBTWB08/p.12, HR60/12, MS49/2, NG07/Part 2/23, PF53/30-10-1950, SB27/4-2, SB77/6, SF57/8]
Esprit: spirit, vivacity [IJ10/27, PC10/5, PJ17/9, PJ17/11]
Esprit de corps: a spirit of belonging to the group of which one is a part, solidarity [23UA]
Esprit de l’escalier: a thought, inspiration or repartee that comes to mind too late [FP29/1, SM37/1]
Esquimaux: plural (Wodehouse erroneously used it as a singular) of Esquimau (also spelled Eskimo), the now obsolete term for Inuit, who are an Indigenous people, the majority of whom inhabit the northern regions of Canada [31FA]
Estorels (the): correctly spelt (the) Estérel, a mountain range in Southern France [RH34/11]
Et Cie.: 'and Company', as in a business name, e.g. Laurette et Cie., the dressmakers [AS22/11]
Étoile au Berger: The Shepherd’s Star (correctly du Berger) is now commonly a traditional cake or pastry with chopped pistachio nuts and orange zest-flavoring and decorated with a star shaped pastry cut out. But in Escoffier’s Le Guide Culinaire it was a moulded confection of raspberry ice cream, with Bénédictine flavored mousse, served on a spun-sugar bed crafted to resemble the radiating beams from a star [CW38/14]
Étourdit: properly spelt étourdi, feeling stunned or dazed [10RE, GB70/6-2]
Étrangers: foreigners [HW32/2-3 and in many other places]
Exposé: a public statement, e.g. in a newspaper, about a disreputable event or scandal [GWTWB08/p.120, MB42/11]

F
Fait accompli: the end of a discussion, a done deed, no further arguments possible [FM47/4, LG36/10]
Faites vos jeux: 'start playing', the announcement of the croupier (q.v.) that the game begins [12TM]
Fam fatarl: phonetic transcription of an English boat steward pronouncing femme fatale (q.v.) [LB35/16]
Farceur: a joker, a person who makes jokes [HW32/2-1]
Farouche: wild, barbaric [BM31/6-1]
Faute de mieux: without a better option [RH34/9]
Femme fatale : a woman who gives one the impression that her actions, or contact with her, may have dire consequences [BW52/11, HR60/8]
Fête: festivity, party [34NO, IB61/10, UD48/3-2, UD48/6-2 and other places in UD48]
Feu de joie: a large open-air fire to celebrate e.g. the harvest, Saint John's Day or other festive traditions [PJ15/16]
Feuilleton: part of newspaper, usually at the bottom of a page, for items about specific subjects such as art or politics, or for a story in instalments [FL56/3]
Fiche de camp, toi: (2nd word should be le, not de) You! Get lost! [PH31/19]
Figaro (le): Le Figaro is a conservative but respected national newspaper [HW32/5]
Finesse: a delicate way of handling things carefully [22BC, TY34/21]
Flair: instinct, intuition, feeling [LB35/5]
Flâneur: someone who enjoys walking around and about, without a specific destination [MS49/5, PJ15/9]
Flic: a popular but not very respectful term for a police officer [FL56/11-2]
Foie: see Mal au foie
Folies Bergères: the second word spelt correctly Bergère, after the Rue Bergère. A theatre in Paris famous for its great musical shows, often in the nature of a cabaret with countless showgirls, frequently scantily clad [PH31/14, PW52/8]
Force majeure: a compulsion or coercion that cannot be resisted [MS49/3, MS49/22]
Fou: crazy. If placed as an adjective after a noun: extraordinary or immense [12MC]
Fracas: loud and riotous noise [GB04/24, PJ17/4, PJ17/5]
Franc: the French currency unit until 1 January 1999, when the Euro was introduced [FL56/3]
Frappé: in the context of 16JU 'chilled' or 'cool' as e.g. a bottle of white wine [16JU]
Friandises: all kinds of sweet finger-food, like petits fours, usually presented towards the end of a dinner along with salty or spicy bites of savouries to stimulate thirst [CW38/14]
Fricassee: properly spelt fricassée, it is traditionally a preparation of chicken cut into pieces (veal and lamb may also be used) in a white sauce [27RB]
Frisson: a shiver or chill – often metaphorical [CT58/6, RH34/20, SU63/7]
Les fruits: a dessert plate with several pieces of fruit to be cut or peeled by the diner at the table. It might typically include a mix of grapes, pears, peaches and plums [JF54/11]

G
Gaffe: a blunder, an awkward remark or act that unthinkingly came out or happened, which better should not have been said or done [QS40/9]
Galles: Wales. The prince de Galles is the Prince of Wales [FL56/5-1]
Garçon: a young male child, but it is also (somewhat old-fashioned) the way to address a waiter [12MC, LB35/1-1]
Gare de Lyon: the Paris train station from which trains go in the direction of Lyon, i.e. to the south of France and the Mediterranean [PB12/8]
Gare du Nord: the Paris train station from which trains go to the north of France and onwards to Belgium and The Netherlands [PB12/8]
Garsong: phonetic transcription of an attempt to pronounce Garçon (q.v.) [FL56/8]
Gaucherie: a lack of grace, of good manners [RH34/14]
Gavotte: an elegant dance, fashionable in the 17th and 18th centuries, with its origins probably in South Eastern France [40SM]
Gendarme (1): member of the French national police force; see gendarmerie (1) [HW32/14-1]
Gendarme (2): a policeman [LG36/13, SM37/25]
Gendarmerie (1): the French national police force, especially but not solely active in rural areas; also their barracks and offices [HW32/6-1, HW32/12, HW32/16-5]
Gendarmerie (2): used facetiously to mean 'the police' in general [IB61/15, IB61/26, JM46/8, LG36/18]
Gêne: a feeling of embarrassment, bordering on shame [11AS, MB42/13]
Grande dame: a lady of standing, of importance [15EY, 30IS, HR60/18, IJ23/4, JF54/21, PB69/8-1, PW52/4-2, PW52/11-3]
Grandeur: with an air of greatness, importance and/or superiority [23UD]
Gratis: free, without charge [IJ10/28]
Grenouillère: a swampy or watery habitat of frogs (or: a onesie, but in this context less probable) [FL56/6-1]
Guillotine: dr. Guillotin did not invent the machinery that supplies 'the only good cure for grey hair', as Wodehouse put it, but he strongly advocated the use of the falling axe [OR51/1]

H
Habitué: a person who usually visits a specific place, such as a café or a theatre, or, in a more general sense, knows the routine of such a place [26/SL, AA74/5, BM31/13-4, SB27/16-1, SW09/Part 2/5]
Harfleur: a commune in Normandy. The text refers to Shakespeare’s Henry V [CT58/1]
Hauteur: literally a height, but often used figuratively, as an attitude of arrogance or superiority [12TM, 26IC, 27JY, 29JS, 35TF, 59LA, BC24/16, BM31/13-1, FL56/4-5, IW31/11, LG36/9, PH02/3, QS40/5, SB77/1, SM37/1, TY34/19]
Haut Monde: literally 'the high world', i.e. the higher and wealthier levels of society [GB65/3-1]
Hein?: an interjection often found at the end of a sentence when the speaker assumes that the other will (or should) agree [12MC, FL56/5-4, PF53/14-2-1947]
Henry of Navarre: probably Henri IV, king of France and Navarre (1553-1610), who sported many a plumed hat, as some contemporary paintings appear to suggest [CT58/1]
Homme sérieux: a serious man [OR51/2, OR51/3, OR51/17]
Hors d'œuvres: starter (UK) or appetizer (US) [14OT, 34NO, BC24/3-2, DD19/26, IB61/9, PJ15/27, SM37/5, SS25/18]
Hurluberlu: a bizarre idiot [RH34/20]

I
Ici on parle Français: French is spoken here [SW09/Part 1/2]
Idée fixe: an idea that dominates the mind, that seems unchangeable [RH34/12]
Impasse: a dead end, a position from where one cannot go anywhere [35AM, 59JM, CW38/5, FP29/13-1, HR60/14, JF54/19, LW20/3-1, MB42/17, PF53/16-12-1949]
Indubitably le diable: in the given context one would translate 'without any doubt the devil' but here 'the diable' means 'diabolical' [TSA14Notes, essay]
Insouciance: carelessness, a state of being unconcerned [28RW, CW38/8, DD19/6, RH34/20, TSA15Talking about Cricket essay]
Instructeur: teacher [HW32/10-1]

J
J'accuse: meaning "I accuse", was the title of Émile Zola's open letter to the President of France in 1898, accusing the government of anti-Semitism and unlawfully sentencing for espionage Alfred Dreyfus, a General Staff officer [JF54/6]
Jacquerie: the peasants' revolt of 1358. Without the capital J: a peasants' revolt in general [HW322-1]
J'ai jeté cinq francs sur huit!: I have thrown five francs on the eight! [12TM]
Je me fiche de ce type infect. C'est idiot de faire comme ça l'oiseau... Allez-vous-en, louffier ...: I don't care about that disgusting man. It is stupid to be perched like a bird... Go away, scoundrel (note: louffier should be spelt louffiat) [RH34/20]
Je ne sais quoi: literally 'I don't know what', meaning: something that one cannot define or describe, but about which one is certain, such as 'a certain something' [04PF, 15RS, 23RB, GBTWB08/p.129, IJ23/10, LW20//14-2, SB27/4-2, 19SF, SW09/Part 1/1PU03/1, TSA15Talking about Cricket essay]
Jer mong feesh der selar: a phonetic rendering of Je m'en fiche de cela which in proper French would be either Je me fiche de cela or (and in more common usage) Je m'en fiche. Either way it would mean 'Í couldn't care less' or even 'I don't give a damn' [26SL]
J'espère que vous n'êtes pas blessée: I hope that you aren't hurt [AS22/2-3]
Je t'adore: I adore you [FL56/5-4]
Je t'aime: I love you [FL56/5-4]
Jeu de mots: play on words, pun [HK04/15]
Jeu d'esprit: a humorous, witty play on words [GBTWB08/p. 6 of pink insert]
Jeunesse dorée: gilded youth, meaning elegant wealthy young people, considering themselves well above the common population, a term that has its origin in the French Revolution [FL56/4-3]
Joie de vivre: pleasure of life, of being alive [24RA, 25CR, 25WO, 29GU, 30IS, AA74/3, BM31/10-1, CT58/22, DD19/15, FP29/3-3, IJ23/3, IJ23/10, MN28/7-1, MS49/15, MS49/22WF07/1, QS40/7, SB77/2, SM37/14, TY34/10]
Journey say quar: phonetic transcription of an attempt to pronounce je ne sais quoi, meaning: I do not know what, best translated as 'a certain something' [FL56/12-1]
Joyeuse: The Chanson de Roland, an epic poem of the 11th century, relates that Charlemagne was wearing his fine mail coat, his helmet with gold-studded stones and his great sword 'Joyeuse', the Happy One. Wodehouse knew what he was doing when he wrote that Lord Ickenham was 'armed with his great sponge Joyeuse' [UF39/10]
Juge d'instruction: in the French legal system an examining magistrate who is charged with establishing all relevant facts prior to the actual court session [FL56/11-2]
Juste: see Mot juste [HR60/10]
J'y suis, j'y reste: this means "Here I am, here I stay". It was reported to have been said by the French general Mac Mahon in the Crimean war, upon arrival at the Malakoff fortress, on 7 September 1855, after which Sebastopol was taken [JF54/1]

K
-

L
La: if used before a female name it traditionally indicates a formidable person, as e.g. in La Bernhardt. Wodehouse may use it in a jocular fashion, as in 'La Bean' [UD48/11]
La!: correctly spelt Là!, there! Look there! [12TM]
La Bohème: a popular opera composed by Giacomo Puccini in 1895 [BC24/15]
Ladishon: phonetic rendering of how someone who can't speak French tries to pronounce L'addition, q.v. [28PA]
Laissez-faire: don't interfere, let it happen [34FW, SU63/20]
Lanson: a high quality champagne [BC24/17-1]
Legs: a legacy. The pronunciation, contrary to Wodehouse's explanation, is |leg|, with or without the g [FL56/2]
Leit Motif: a German term, which should be spelt Leitmotif, also used in French, where it is spelt Leitmotiv, a specific theme, which may be recurrent, in a symphony or other composition [DD19/26]
Lentement: slowly [AS22/2-3]
Lèse-Majesté: an attack on the dignity of a ruling monarch, considered a crime in many monarchies [12RR, PJ15/23]
Lieu: place; the English expression 'in lieu of' means instead of [23NW, MB42/28, TY34/9]
Loos: a village in Northern France  which in the autumn of 1915 was a battle site in the First World War [SF57/15]
Lorgnette: a pair of eyeglasses, held in the hand by means of a long handle [HR60/18]
Louis: this used to be a gold coin, but it eventually meant twenty francs (q.v.) [34NO]

M
Macedoine: properly spelt macédoine, a mixture of different cut-up vegetables or fruits, also used figuratively, as a mixture of different parts [CW38/4, HW32/17-2, IB61/25, UD48/3-2]
Mademoiselle: Miss [10RE, FL56/4-3 and elsewhere]
Magnifique: magnificent, grand, wonderful [FL56/4-1, LB35/1-1]
Mais: but [HW32/10-1]
Mais ce n'est pas le diable: but it is not diabolically awful [TSA14Notes, essay]
Mais oui!: of course! Certainly! [HW32/10-1]
Mais oui, mais oui, c’est trop fort!: perhaps best translated as 'Yes, absolutely, definitely yes, it's too bad! [IJ23/4]
Mais retournez à nos moutons: but please go back to where we were at, in our conversation [GBTWB08/p.114]
Maître: used to address a highly competent and wise person who may be in a position to teach, to instruct others who aspire to learn and to grow in knowledge [BW52/21, PF53/30-12-1944, PF53/BB, PH31/14]
Maître d'hôtel: head-waiter, who welcomes guests, shows them their table and supervises waiting staff [LW20/4-1]
Malaise: unease, minor trouble [CT58/8, PJ17/9, PJ17/11]
Mal au foie: literally hepatic pain or discomfort, usually but not solely experienced after a heavy meal [MO71/7, SU63/17]
Mal-de-mer: sea-sickness, used in the trade name of tablets [HW32/1-1]
Malgré lui: in spite of himself, whereas he really did not want to [GB04/13]
Malplaquet: a place in Northern France, where during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1709 a battle took place between the Grand Alliance under the Duke of Marlborough and the French army [UF39/9]
Malvoisie: one of several names given to a group of mainly Mediterranean grape varieties [12SA, LW20/1-1, SU63/2]
Maquis: guerrilla-units of the French Resistance during the Second World War [FL56/2 and elsewhere in FL56]
Mardi Gras: carnival period ending on Shrove Tuesday [15CH]
Marmiton de Domange: night soil man, sewer cleaner (argot) [RH34/20]
Marquis: a high-ranking nobleman, a count [FL56/Preface and elsewhere in FL56]
Marron: chestnut, but also one's head; thus: a severe blow on someone's head or in the face [FL56/6-6]
Mat-i-nay: an attempt to pronounce Matinée (q.v.) [SS25/22]
Matinée: a performance, concert or show in the afternoon [15EY, 23UA, AA74/8, BM31/6-1, IJ23/15, IJ23/16, GB70/6-1, SS25/21-2]
Mediterranee: correctly spelt Méditerranée, the Mediterranean Sea [12TM]
Mélange: mixture [IB61/1, MS49/3, UD48/5-1]
Mêlée (not to be spelt mélée or melee): a mixed and un-organised group of people and/or animals [10RE, 23RB, AS22/2-3, AS22/13-4]
Memoirs: properly spelt mémoires, usually written reporting of what the author remembers of their life [OR51/1 and elsewhere in OR/51]
Ménage: all inhabitants of a home: family, personnel, dogs etc. [SU63/2]
Mer: see Sur-Mer
Merci: thank you [LB35/1-1 and many other places]
Mercure de France: a high quality French magazine, started in 1672 but ultimately closed down in 1965 [BC24/2-3]
Mésalliance: a marriage in which one person is socially (much) inferior to the other [MS49/1, UD48/3-3]
Messieurs: plural of Monsieur (q.v.) [12TN]
Metier: properly spelt métier, one's profession, job or speciality [PJ15/6]
Mignonette (1): the feminine form of mignon, meaning charming, cute [SM37/2 and in many other places in SM37]
Mignonette (2): dianthus plumarius, also known as garden pink, a fragrant herbaceous perennial [58WS, UD48/5-1]
Mignonette de poulet Petit Duc rôti: supreme (breast and wing) of chicken cut into rounds and studded with pickled tongue and truffle. Petit-duc usually is a garnish consisting of tartlets filled with chicken purée, asparagus tips etc. [CW38/14, JF54/19, MO71/6]
Mille: thousand. A mille is a 1,000 francs note [34NO, FL56/9-2, HW32/1-4, HW32/8-2]
Mille pardons: literally 'a thousand pardons' and thus an old-fashioned way of saying sorry [FL56/4-3]
Minute: in the context of ‘steak minute’ (the second word is the same word in French as in English, but pronounced as in French) it is cooked very briefly [34NO]
Moi: me, with emphasis [12TN]
Moi qui parle: (it is me) who is speaking [12TN]
Mon ange, mon trésor, qu'est ce que tu as?: my angel, my treasure, what is it that you've got? [FL56/11-2]
Mon Prince!: my Prince! [PB12/16]
Mon Repos: 'my state of calm and peace'. In the '20s and '30s this was among the favourite names for homes in the UK, to the point of becoming a cliché [SS25/8 and passim]
Monsieur: used when addressing a male person, where in English one would use either 'sir' or 'Mr.' [10RH, 12MC, MN28/4-1, PF53/BB]
Mont de Piété: usually spelt mont-de-piété: pawnshop [10RE, IJ23/4]
Mon vieux: old chap [HW32/10-1, PF53/24-9-1950]
Moose-yer: an attempt to pronounce 'Monsieur' (q.v.) [FL56/6-1]
Moral: in the context of TY34 the psychological and mental state of a person [TY34/17]
Morale: properly spelt moral (q.v.) [30IS, JM46/13]
Morceau (plural: morceaux): a piece, often but not always, of a larger entity. In GB65 it is a piece of music, in JF54 it is a poem [27CD, GB65/9-3, JF54/10, JM46/12, LP23/12, UF39/13]
Motif: main subject or idea in a work of art [33AH, 35TF, BC24/2-4, BM31/11-1, LG36/15, QS40/13, RH34/11]
Mot juste: the right word or phrase in the right place, a term coined by Gustave Flaubert, the author of Madame Bovary [26SL, 34GB, AA74/2, BA73/3, BW52/2, CT58/12, CW38/5, FM47/10, FP29/11-2, HW32/14-2, IB61/22, JF54/8, JF54/19, JM46/12, LB35-5, MN28/13-2, MO71/8, MS49/6, MS49/15, MS49/24, OR51/9, PB69/8-1, PF53/11-5-1942, PW52/11-2, RH34/17, SF57/11, TY34/4, TY34/22, UF39/6]
Mot-juster: a facetious attempt to improve on le mot juste (q.v.) suggesting an even higher degree of 'the right word in the right place' [JM46/25]
Moue: pouting, pressing the lips together and pushing them out, thus suggesting e.g. refusal or disappointment [CW38/4, HR60/9, SU63/24]
Mousse: a creamy, frothy dessert [RH34/6]
Mousseline: muslin (a light and finely woven dress fabric) [MS49/22]
Mousseline de soie: a Mousseline (q.v.) tissue made of silk [LG36/21]
M’sieur, M'sieu: phonetic renderings of Monsieur (q.v.) [16TL, PH31/19, LB35/1-1]
Municipal(e): being under, or part of, the local town administration [12TM]

N
Naïve: feminine form of naïf, meaning pleasantly simple, unaffected, innocent, natural [NG07/Part 2/26]
Napoleon: Napoléon I, the first (self-appointed) emperor of France (1804 – 1814), has become – often with a facetious touch – the symbol of men considered, often by themselves, to be strong and multi-talented [DD19/14, BA73/9-2, GB65/9-3, IA21/21, JF54/18, LP23/7-1, LW20/2-2, LW20/16-2, PB69/1-2, PJ15/29, PJ17/1, UF39/18, WH14/Book 2, 7 & 15]
Napoleonic: like Napoléon (q.v.) [LG36/22, LW20/14-2, PJ17/1]
Née: literally 'born', in the feminine form, meaning 'her maiden name being …..' [BC24/1-1, DS32/13, FM47/9, IA21/3, IB61/20, IB61/25, SS25/29-2, TY34/16]
Negligay: a New York producer’s effort to pronounce Negligé (q.v.) [BW52/9]
Négligé, in different texts also found as negligée, negligee and négligée: now obsolete in French, meaning a light dress worn by women in an intimate situation, and often used by Wodehouse to mean a nightie [31FA, IA21/13, PJ17/22]
Neige aux Perles des Alpes: literally 'snow with pearls of the Alps Mountains' this dessert is made with egg whites whisked stiff; the 'pearls of the Alps Mountains' is a reference to the way the egg whites are served [CW38/14, MO71/11]
Ne nuis pas à ton voisin: see Roi Pausole [UF39/11]
Ne pas: as such, not a French expression, possibly used to illustrate the incorrect use of French words by a schoolboy who meant something like 'absolutely not' [MK09/34, MK09/34-53(MP)/5]
Noblesse: the class of persons who are of noble birth [30IS, SN15/6-2]
Noblesse oblige: being a person of noble birth entails honourable behaviour [11IA, 27PD, 29JD, 34NO, 48FO, BM31/6-1, FL56/9-1, FP29/17, HW32/1-4, IJ23/9, JF54/15B, LG36/1, MB42/23, MB42/28, MK09/55, MN28/7-1, RH34/4, SB77/9, UD48/7-2]  
Nom de plume: literally: a pen-name, usually a writer's pseudonym [NG07/Part 2/11, PJ15/5]
Nom de tayarter: an attempt to say 'nom de théâtre', which means an adopted stage name [SF57/23]   
Nom d'un nom d'un nom: a rather fruity equivalent of "Damn!", derived from "Nom de Dieu!" [RH34/20]
Nom d'une pipe!: 'name of a pipe!' is a common innocent derivative from Nom de Dieu! (Name of God), considered to be a rude expletive [HW32/10-1]
Nonats de la Méditerranée au Fenouil: a dish of small Mediterranean fish, fried whole, like English whitebait, spiced with fennel [CW38/14, JF54/19]
Nonchalant: cool, indifferent [RH34/18] and thus nonchalance: a cool, indifferent attitude [RH34/2]
Nonnettes de poulet Agnès Sorel: elaborate dish described by Auguste Escoffier around 1900, consisting of chicken breasts, each stuffed with an ortolan (a very small bird), served encased in fried bread [CW38/11, RH34/11]
Nuance: a delicate difference in meaning or feeling [34FW, UM16/12]

O
Objay dar: an attempt to pronounce objet d'art (q.v.) [IA21/9]
Objets d’art: items, often collectors' items, usually fairly small, having an artistic and monetary value [25CR, CW38/4, CW38/11, IA21/9, MB42/11, MS49/24, PJ17/3, PP67/3-1, PP67/7-3, SB27/2-2, SO63/103, SS25/22-1, SU63/90, UF39/14]
Oeufs à la …: eggs cooked or prepared in the manner of… [SS25/18]
Oeufs marseillaises: should be spelt oeufs marseillais, scrambled eggs sauteed in oil and garlic and mashed tomatoes [SS25/18]
Omelette (fines herbes): omelet (with savoury herbs) [HW32/11-4]
Om sayrioo and om seerioo: phonetic renderings of how someone who can't speak French tries to pronounce Homme sérieux (q.v.) [OR51/9, UF39/15]
Onteem: an attempt to pronounce the French word 'intime' which means intimate [IB61/5]
Oo là là: properly spelt Oh là là indicates an emphasis, an exhortation in a conversation [BA73/3-2, FL56/6-6, FM47/2, PF53/28-3-1935, SF57/10, SF57/13, UD48/10-3]
Oubliettes: subterranean cells in ancient castles into which prisoners were brought who were condemned for an indefinite time (oublier means: to forget). In PP67/2-1 the word oubliette is also used as a jocular indication of a small room in a gentlemen's club where members could entertain their female guests [LB35/19, PP67/1-2, PW52/11-2]
Oui: yes [AS22/2-4]
Outré: beyond normal and decent behaviour [BM31/6-1, GBTWB08/p.45]

P
Panache: in this context a jovial devil-may-care attitude with a touch of pride [NG07/Part 2/3]
Papier maché: literally ‘chewed paper’, is a moulding material based on paper and glue, used for toys, masks, theatre sets etc. [CW38/12]
Parbleu!: an innocent old-fashioned swear-word, such as 'forsooth!' [HW32/10-1]
Pardon: usually 'Pardon, Madame' or 'Pardon, Monsieur', meaning 'Excuse me' [16TL]
Parfait: perfect [RH34/23, TY34/4]
Parfait gentil: probably borrowed from the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, referring to the characteristics of a proper knight: a perfectly gentle person [CW38/12]
Parfaitement: exactly [HW32/10-1]
Paris plage: while plage (q.v.) means 'beach', Paris Plage  (in full: Le-Touquet-Paris-Plage) is the name of a municipality in the North-West of France. See also: Touquet (Le) [PF53/BB]
Parlez français, monsieur!: Speak French, Sir! [FL56/10-4]
Pas du tout: not at all [FL56/4-3]
Passade: a transitory amorous relationship, an amorous adventure [BA73/8-2]
Passé: past its time, over-ripe [NG07/Part 2/7]
Pas seul: this could mean 'not alone', but in the SS61 context this is 'pas' in de ballet vocabulary of 'step', hence a dance figure – as the singular of a 'pas de deux' [SS61/12-1, TM22/17-1]
Pas seuls: plural of Pas seul, above [PB69/7-3]
Pas si vite: not so fast [AS22/2-3]
Pâté de foie gras: a pie of force-fed goose liver [LW20/8-2, QS40/4, SN15/3-3]
Pâtés: pies [NG07/Part 2/15]
Patisserie: should be spelt pâtisserie: sweet pastry [MB42/5]
Patois: a dialect, a manner of speaking which is not a formal language, a lingo [34NO, BM31/8]
Patron: the boss [10RH, 12MC]
Pêche Melba: a peach dessert created in 1894 by Auguste Escoffier, chef in the London Savoy and model for Wodehouse's Anatole, in honour of the Australian soprano Nellie Melba [IB61/9, SM37/6]
Peignoir: a ladies' loose dressing-gown of a light material, worn after bathing and/or when combing one's hair [PB69/12]
Penchant: propensity, liking (for something) [PF53/28-10-1906]
Pensée: a thought that has an important literary or artistic value [UF39/1-2]
Penseur: the context refers to 'The Thinker', the 1881 bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin [OR51/1
Pension: boarding house, guesthouse [AS22/2-4, FL56/4-2]
Perdu: lost, gone, disappeared [AS22/2-5, HR60/8]
Père Noël: Father Christmas [FL56/10-4]
Personnel: staff, employees [HW32/4, IJ23/15, LW20/14-1]
Petite: of a female person, small – but often used as a positive appreciation [NG07/Part 2/15, GBTWB08/p.102]
Petit St. Roqueois (Le): "The Little (newspaper) of Saint Roque" might have existed if there was a village called Saint Roque [HW32/5]
Petits chevaux: meaning 'little horses', is a gambling game played with a mechanical device in which revolve figures of jockeys on horseback, distinguished by numbers or colours [10RE]
Pétrissage: in massage, kneading [58FL]
Picquet: properly spelt piquet, an old-fashioned card game [IJ10/20]
Pied-à-terre: a simple place to stay, for one or for more short stays [NG07/Part 2/1, SW09/Part 1/2]
Pierrot: the classic silent clown in flowing white garb [HW32/3]
Pignouf: an uncouth person, an oik (argot) [RH34/20]
Pince-nez: eyeglasses with a spring to clip the nose [23UD, CW38/3, CW38/14, DD19/15, IA21/10, IB61/10, IJ23/3, IJ23/13, JF54/6, JF54/7, LP23/1-1, MK09/2, MK09/31, MK09-53(MW)/2, MK09-53(MP)/19, PB69/1-1, PB69/7-3, PJ15/1, PW52/1, UD48/2]
Piquant: (of a face) pleasantly stimulating interest and attention [MB42/13]
Pique: the sentiment of one's feelings being somewhat hurt due to someone else's unfriendly remark or action [33AH, 35TF, BW52/1, FL56/12-1, MB42/18, UD48/3-2] (not to be confused with piqué)
Piqué: a particular cotton fabric [LB35/18, PF53/HDBD] (not to be confused with pique)
Pirouetting: not a French word as such, but made up by Wodehouse for doing a pirouette, in ballet a spin on one foot or on the point of a toe [48FO, JF54/15] 
Plage: beach, also to be translated as 'on sea' , e.g. in a name of a town such as Roville plage [AS22/2-1]
Plat du jour: the dish of the day, which is the restaurant management's choice of one particular dish that will be promoted for a day [HR60/1, PF53/HDBD]
Poignant: painfully sharp (of feelings) [TY34/22]
Poignard: dagger [SS61/5-2]
Point d'appui: fulcrum, bearing point, base. Wodehouse uses the term approximately to mean 'where it all started', or, as he puts it: the 'inception if inception is the word I want' [CW38/8, HR60/1, RH34/1]
Points d’asperges à la Mistinguett: asparagus tips prepared in a manner that celebrates the famous singer, dancer and actress Mistinguett (1875-1956). No exact description or recipe has been found [CW38/14]
Politesse: good manners [HW32/10-1]
Portière: a curtain closing off a passage with or without a door [NG07/Part 2/15]
Portmanteau: coat-rack. However, portmanteau used as a somewhat old-fashioned English (not an American) word, means a type of leather suitcase [MK09/2]
Poste restante: a service where the post office holds a person's mail until the addressee comes by and calls for it ('general delivery' in US English) [28OO]
Pot-pourri also written potpourri: a mixture of fragrant dried flowers [58WS, PB69/7-3, TM22/15]
Pottage ar lar princess: an attempt to pronounce potage à la princesse, princess soup. There does not appear to exist a specific soup in French cooking with that name [SS25/2]
Poulet en casserole: chicken prepared in a round pan with a handle [CT58/8, IA21/21, LW20/4-1]
Poulet rôti au cresson: roasted chicken with (water)cress [29UB, MS49/2]
Poulet rôti aux pommes de terre: roasted chicken with potatoes [SB27/16-1]
Pourboire: literally 'for drinking', i.e. money given for services rendered, so that recipients can go and buy themselves a drink, a tip, a gratuity [PB12/8]
Pourparlers, occasionally erroneously spelt pour-parlers: negotiations, discussions [AA74/8, BW52/20, CW38/8, CW38/9, DB86/2, GB65/10-2, HR60/16, JF54/15, LG36/14, MS49/4, PB69/6-1, RH34/11, SS61/5-2, TM22/4-1, UD48/6-3]
Précis: a summary [CW38/14, PJ15/16, RH34/5, UF39/11]
Première: the first performance of a theatre play [NG07/Part 2/26]
Preux: probably a reference to Preux chevalier (q.v.) but on its own to be translated as courageous, brave [31FA, JM46/5, UF39/6]
Preux chevalier: gallant knight [AA74/7, CW38/12, HR60/7, JF54/14, LG36/21, MO71/13, MS49/10, SS25/17, TY34/19, UD48/9-2]
Prince de Galles: Prince of Wales [FL56/5-1]
Prix fixe: a fixed price, e.g. in a restaurant [SB27/15, SB27/16-1]
Promenade: avenue for walking or strolling [IJ23/4, GB70/1]
Promenade des Anglais : the best-known sea-side 'promenade (q.v.) of the English' in Nice, but here by Wodehouse moved to Roville [FL56/5-1]
Promenade des Etrangers: correctly spelt Étrangers, the 'promenade (q.v.) of the Foreigners' [12TM]
Protégé: a person to whom another person is a protector [23DB, AS22/9, AS22/13-4, DD19/17]
Provençal: of or in the Provence, the South-Eastern region of France [PF53/6-3-1932, RH34/11, SS25/22-1]
Purée: mashed up, as in fruit or potatoes, or as having fallen from a high place to the ground [RH34/21]

Q
Quarante hommes, huit chevaux: literally forty men, eight horses, referring to a vehicle with room for 40 and with a motor power of 'eight horses'; the 'horse' is a French unity of a vehicle's power for fiscal (taxation) purposes [PF53/BB]
Quatz Arts: correctly spelt Quat'z'Arts, was the popular name for the French national school for Fine Arts. Its annual ball (since 1892), organised by the students, was (in)famous because of its perceived licentiousness [UD48/14-1]
Que est-il maintenant? Que voulez-vous?: 'que est' is not perfect French but the meaning is clear: "What is it now? What do you want?" [LB35/1-4]
Qui vive: usually in the context of 'to be on the qui vive', meaning 'to be watching out, to be on the alert' [AA74/12]
Quoi: what? (as a stand-alone word expressing surprise) [PF53/BB]

R
Raconteur: someone who tells stories, acting them out, with gestures, voices etc. [PW52/11-2, SB77/5]
Raconteuse: feminine form of raconteur (q.v.) [UF39/12]
Raisonneur: someone who discusses, weighs arguments and usually arrives at a sensible conclusion [SU63/4 and many other instances in SU63]
Rapport: positive relationship, affinity [GB65/2-1]
Rapprochement: a process of re-establishing good relations [34GB, CT58/14, IA21/12, JM46/23]
Reculer pour mieux sauter: a common expression meaning 'going back a bit in order to jump better' [UD48/11-6]
Régime: a method or system to administer, to manage [BM31/13-1, PF53/BB, PJ15/8, PJ15/10]
Rencontres: meetings [WF07/6]
Rendez-vous: meeting, meeting-place [NG07/Part 2/24]
Repertoire: correctly spelt répertoire, in this context the totality of all works and roles that a actor has played and for which she or he may be famous [BW52/21]
Résumé: summary [HW32/13, MK09/30, MK09/30-53(MP)/1, QS40/19]
Retroussé: of a nose, elegantly and attractively turned up [NG07/Part 2/15, SB27/12]
Réveille: bugle wake-up signal in military or scouting camps [HK04/6 & 8]
Reverie: correctly spelt rêverie, a state of dreaminess, musing, day-dreaming [33AH, FL56/6-1, GBTWB08/p.51, MB42/21, MO71/7, QS40/1, TY34/20]
Revue: in this context a show with music, song, dance and general jollification [12TM, 15EY, IJ23/15]
Ris de veau à la financière: calves' sweetbreads à la financière, which is a complicated recipe involving Madeira wine and truffles [25CR]
Rive gauche: left bank - of the river Seine, in Paris, the place which was traditionally where aspiring painters, authors and all other artists lived or intended to live [FL56/3, UD48/10-2]
Rognons aux Montagnes: probably based on Rognons à la tyrolienne, a preparation of lamb or mutton kidneys, grilled and served with fried onions and crushed tomatoes [JF54/9]
Rogommier: excessive brandy drinker, drunkard (from rogomme, meaning brandy) [FL56/6-6, RH34/22]
Roi Pausole: Pierre Louÿs wrote Les aventures du roi Pausole ('the adventures of King Pausole', 1901). This king gave his people two rules: (1) Ne nuis pas à ton voisin (2) Ceci bien compris, fais ce qu'il te plaît, i.e. (1) Do not harm your neighbour (2) Having understood that well, do as you please [UF39/11]
Rosbif: roast beef, pronounced the French way. 'Les rosbifs' is a colloquial way the French may refer to the English like the British might use 'Frogs' for the French [AS22/3-3]
Roue: correctly spelt roué, a dodgy person without any scruples [10DW]
Rose du Barri: properly spelt Rose du Barry, a soft shade of pink, probably named after Madame du Barry, mistress of King Louis XV [LP23/13-4]
Roustisseur: beggar, thief (argot) [RH34/20]
Rue: street [FL56/2]
Rue de la Paix: literally 'Peace Street', a well-known Parisian thoroughfare; in the context of Wodehouse's internment in  Huy obviously an ironic appellation [PF53/BB]
Rue Jacob: a well-known street in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area on the Rive Gauche (q.v.) in Paris [UD48/-1]

S
Sabots: wooden shoes, clogs [MB42/6]
Sabreur: swordsman; a Beau Sabreur is a gallant warrior, a dashing adventurer. A term probably made popular by the 1928 Gary Cooper film with that title [FM47/1, FP29/1-2, PW52/1-2]
Sacrébleu: normally spelt sacrebleu, a mild expletive, derived from Sacré Dieu [FL56/6-1]
Salade Bruxelloise: a mixed salad (served in many Belgian and French restaurants, of no spe-cific recipe or composition, nor having any relation with Brussels) [SB27/16-1]
Salade d’endive et de celery: endive and celery presented as a salad [CW38/14]
Salle-à-manger: (usually without the hyphens) dining room [PW52/3-2]
Salle de bain: bathroom, not (as in the US) a toilet, but a room with a bath or shower [CW38/11, RH34/9]
Salon: a get-together of artists, authors, politicians etc., who would discuss literature, philosophy, politics etc. [13ST, 16AS, 35AM, FM47/4, LW20/19-1, PJ15/4, PJ17/1, PW52/10-1, TY34/8]
Sang-froid: literally 'cold blood', meaning self-control, calm, or even with some lack of feeling [22BC, 22MP, 26TAG, 27BM, 30JK, CW38/4, HR60/16, IW31/23, JM46/13, MB42/11, PU03/6, PU03/12, RH34/15, TY34/23, UF39/11]
Sans-culotte: without culotte, i.e. breeches (short trousers fastened below the knee). Late 17th century, when poor people wore trousers, the culottes were considered aristocratic leg-wear and thus the sans-culottes were seen as ardent revolutionaries [FL56/4-3, MN28/10-2, SS25/27-1]
Sans-souci: without worry. These are French words but not a French expression. It was the name of Frederic the Great of Prussia's summer palace. As a cliché in the English language it became the name of countless homes [SS25/29-2]
Sauté: in the case of kidneys (when correct French would require the plural sautés) cooked quickly in a skillet or frying pan, stirred actively and fairly quickly [27RB]
Sauve qui peut: the equivalent of 'every man for himself; in the context a throng of people all pushing to be first [LC21/3]
Savant: a learned person [12MC]
Savoir-faire: literally 'to know (how) to do', meaning competence, the ability to solve any problem [IJ10/12, LB35/11, LB35/20, MN28/8-3, MS49/9]
Scélérat: a criminal [HW32/12]
Sciatique: sciatica, neuralgia of hip and thigh [LB35/1-3]
Séance: a session, a meeting [10AB, CW38/5, PC10/3, and elsewhere in PC10, PJ15/14, PJ15/25]
Sec: dry [HR60/16, IW31/2]
See jewness savvay: phonetic transcription of an English boat steward pronouncing the first half of the French saying 'si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait' (if Youth (only) knew, if Old Age (still) could) [LB35/16]
Seigneur: Lord, as in 'Lord of the Manor' [BM31/13-1, HW32/5, JF54/1, JM46/22, PB69/1-1, PJ15/8, SS25/3]
Seigneurial: what may belong to a Seigneur (q.v.) or what may be expected, in standing, wealth or character, of a Seigneur [SS25/3]
Selle d’Agneau aux laitues à la Grecque: saddle of lamb stuffed with Greek style rice served on a bed of braised lettuce [CW3814, JF54/9, JF54/19]
Serfs d'Avenir (les): in a feudal system a serf is a person who, with his family, is attached to the soil and its owner. Here one would have expected 'serves' (female) and 'de l'avenir' (with the particle). Avenir means 'future', therefore 'the female serfs of the Future' [NG07/Part 2/23]
Shovoor: an attempt to pronounce chauffeur, driver [LW20/17-1]
Sieur: a French word that after 1066 also became an English word for a high-ranking gentle-man; Sieur de… means the Lord of… [LB35/12, LB35/16, MB42/6, RH34/1]
Smoking: used in France and many European countries for a dinner jacket (UK) or tuxedo (US) [RH34/9]
Sobriquet: same meaning as the English word 'Soubriquet', nickname [IJ23/4, SS25/13]
Soigné: well groomed, well-dressed. elegant. Please note in The Mating Season that the pronunciation is not unlike Swanee, as in the song Swanee River [MS49/20, SU63/24]
Sole frite au gourmet aux champignons: a fried sole with mushrooms [IJ23/1]
Soleil: sun [HW32/10-1, LB35/1-4]
Sole meunière: a classic simple dish. The sole is to be covered in flour (la meunière is the miller's wife – hence perhaps the name of the dish) and cooked briefly in butter, both sides, in a skillet, on a fairly hot fire [CW38/4, SS25/16-1]
Solitude à deux: the situation of a couple that isolate themselves from others – whether this is considered pleasant or unpleasant [JF54/22]
Somme: a river in Northern France, still known for the battle that took place in the second half year of 1916, when more than a million soldiers died [SF57/15]
Sou: a coin originally 1/20th of a franc, now disappeared, but still alive in the figurative sense: 'not a sou' meaning 'not a penny' or 'not a cent' [BW52/7]
Soubriquet: properly spelt sobriquet, a nickname [SS25/16-1]
Soufflé: light, sweet, delicate eggwhite-based dessert that rises when baked [SB27/2-1, LB35/18, MB42/14, PF53/HDBD, UD48/3-3, UF39/1]
Soupçon: suspicion, hence less than a certainty, hence a very small quantity [PC10/6]
St. Mihiel: a small village south of Verdun. The context refers to the battle of St. Mihiel, which was fought in September1918. It involved the American Expeditionary Forces and 110.000 French troops [IA21/18]
Succes fou: correctly spelt succès fou, a great success, literally: a mad success [12MC]
Suède: leather, mainly used for gloves, of which the soft side that is usually worn on the inside, is worn on the outside [UD48/3-2]
Suprême de Foie Gras au Champagne: a preparation of goose or duck liver with Champagne wine [CW38/14, MO71/7, SF17/18]
Sur-Mer: on-Sea, as a suffix to the name of a town or village (as in Roville-sur-Mer) [AS22/2-1, AS22/2-3, AS22/3-1]
Svelte: slender, elegant [10AB, CW38/3 QS40/13, SB27/2-1, SN15/5-5]
Sylphides à la crème d'écrevisses: an elaborate dish of one or two chicken dumplings covered with a thin chicken breast and a parmesan soufflé preparation, served with crèmed'écrevisses, a crayfish and cream sauce (a sylphide, a spirit of the air, is a dainty, fairylike being) [59JM, CW38/14, JF54/11, MO71/7]

T
Table d'hôte: a set meal of two or three courses offered in a restaurant for a fixed price; that is to say, not à la carte [DD19/2, IA21/13, NG07/Part 2/6, SB27/15, SB27/16-1]
Tapotage: in massage, a rather strong tapping with the fingers or with  the side of the hand [58FL]
Tendresses: expressions or acts showing affection, attachment [FM47/7]
Teuf-teuf: in French the imitation of the sound of an ancient automobile. On finnegansweb.com it is suggested that in Edwardian upper class slang this was a common phrase for 'bye-bye'; in any case this is obviously what Bertie intends it to mean [29JL]
Tête-à-tête: private conversation between two persons [23US, 28PA, 31FA, 34GB, 34NO, AS22/3-1, BM31/7-1, CT58/5, CT58/12, CW38/1, DS32/11, FL56/7-4, FM47/1, GBTWB08/p.48, HW32/14-3, IA21/21, IB61/19, IJ10/28, JM46/8, LW20/5-2, MB42/4, MB42/24, MN28/4-3, MO71/12, MS49/16 (twice), MS49/19, PB69/4-3, PB69/11-2, PH02/13, PP67/2-1, PP67/7-3, PW52/5-2NG07/Part 2/15, QS40/13, RH34/19, SB27/2-2, SB27/6-5, SB77/11, SM/37-13, SN15/10-3, SS25/1, SS25/12-1, SU63/24, UD48/3-3]
Thés musicales: should be thés musicaux; also called thés dansants, were dances held in the afternoon at which tea was served [25HC]
Timbale de ris de veau Toulousaine: a pie-crust filled with ris de veau (calves' sweetbreads) with a ragout garnish, made in the style of Toulouse, a city in southwest France [59JM, CW38/14, JF54/8, MO71/7, SF17/18]
Timbre: a particular quality of a sound [29JD, 29SA, 30JO, 58WS, CW38/3, JM46/27]
Toilet: usually spelt toilette, meaning appearance or outfit [28PA]
Tonneau: the French word means 'barrel' but also used to mean the back seat in a carriage or an open automobile – now obsolete [23NW]
Touquet (Le): a classy seaside resort in NW France. Its name is known to many Wodehousians, as Mr and Mrs Wodehouse lived there in the 'thirties, until German soldiers arrested Wodehouse in 1940 and interned him [IB61/6]
Tour de force: a feat of exceptional strength or skill [NG07/Part 1/1, PF53/HDBD]
Tournure: in the context of 15BL it may be understood as style, or a certain elegance [15BL]
Tout ce qu'il y a de chic: the last word in chic (see chic, above) [RH34/1, RH34/2]
Tout comprendre c'est tout pardonner: to understand everything is to forgive everything (a French saying) [AA74/5, CW38/6, CW38/10, CW38/11]
Tout droit: straight ahead [LB35/1-4]
Tout ensemble: all taken together [26JI, DD19/12, DD19/14, JF54/5, JM46/7, LB35/20, SW09/Part 1/1]
Tout passe: everything passes on, nothing is permanent – a French saying that is here the title of a waltz being played [NG07/Part 2/15 & 23]
Troubadour: a minstrel or lyric poet in mediaeval times [MB42/11, MB42/21, MB42/22]
Trousseau: clothing, traditionally especially linen, that a girl would bring with her when she was going to get married [UF39/14]
Truite bleue: should be truite au bleu, a trout dish [IB61/19, SM37/6, UD48/4]

U
-

V
Va!: go! [10RH]
Va-t'en!: go away! [12MC]
Vere de Vere: the name of an English noble family, well-known because of Tennyson's poem 'Lady Clara Vere de Vere' (1842), about the family considering high-level aristocratic demeanour more important than true love [DB68/14]
Velouté aux fleurs de courgettes: a soup, thickened with egg yolks, butter and cream, with flowers of the summer squash (or: zucchino) [CW38/14]
Vers libre: literally 'free verse', meaning a poetic tradition which chooses not to follow traditional metre, rhythm and/or rhyme [27CD, PJ17/9, PJ17/26, SB27/1-1, TM22/2-2]
Vertu: the phrase used is 'objects of vertu', which is a semi-translation of objets de vertu. This literally would be 'objects of virtue' but means small antique objects of outstanding craftmanship. 'Pictures and so on' is Psmith's explanation, which suggests that he or Wodehouse was not entirely aware of its meaning [PC10/8, PJ15/23]
Verve: inspiration, fantasy [12MC, PJ17/11]
Vicomte: viscount [HW32/1-1 and in many other places]
Vie de Bohème (la): the life of which Charles Aznavour sang in La Bohème, the chanson in which a painter remembers nostalgically his youthful artistic and romantic life on Montmartre [SB77/3]
Vie Parisienne (la): 'Parisian Life', a French magazine, in its time well-known for its artwork [FL56/Preface, PF53/BB, SM37/5]
Ville Lumière: Paris. Its popular nickname 'City of Light' may trace its origins to the 19th century, when electric light brilliantly lit up the city and its edifices [58FL, PF53/5-2-1945]
Vin: wine. Vin ordinaire: a cheap but not unpleasant wine [12TM]
Vis-à-vis: face to face, facing each other [AA74/12, CW38/2, JF54/2, JM46/18, LG36/4, LG36/20, MB42/14, PW52/9-3, RH34/4, SU63/2, UF39/13]
Vite: quick [12TM, FL56/1]
Vive: long live, as in 'long live the king! [PH31/19]
Vive la République!: Long live the Republic! [PB12/16]
V'la!: correctly spelt voilà! a one-syllable pronunciation of same, meaning: There!, Look! Done! Without the exclamation mark voilà means 'look there' or 'see' [AS22/2-4, AS22/3-3, GB70/1-1, LB35/1-1]
Voilà: derived from 'vois là', meaning 'Look there!', it is a word that essentially is used to request the listener's attention. See also V'là, above [59JM, JF54/7, JF54/22, SF57/13]
Voila comme des accidents arrivent: that is how accidents happen. Voila should be spelt Voilà. See also V'la! [PH02/5]
Voilà tout: that's all [FL56/5-2, MO71/15]
Vol-au-vent: a light puff pastry, with a raised border, usually filled, after baking, with a ragout of fowl, game, or fish [LW20/2-1]
Volte-face: literally best translated as 'turn-around' it may be used for a total change of opinion or attitude [BW 52/13, LB35/24]

W
Waterloo: a village in the Southern Netherlands (now: Belgium) where Napoléon (q.v.) in 1815 was decisively and finally defeated, hence meaning an ending point. [WH14/Book 15 title]

X
-

Y
-

Z
Zero deux trois un: the first word should have been spelt zéro, and it simply means zero, two, three, one [FL56/10-3]
Zut!: an all-purpose interjection, usually with the exclamation mark, meaning Blast! or Drat! [AS22/2-4, BA73/3-2, FL56/6-1, HW32/2-1]

 

NOVELS
[An asterisk indicates that in that novel no French words are to be found]
AA74: Aunts Aren't Gentlemen (UK title) / The Cat-Nappers (US title)
AS22: The Adventures of Sally
BA73: Bachelors Anonymous
BC24: Bill the Conqueror
BM31: Big Money
BW52: Barmy in Wonderland
CT58: Cocktail Time
CW38: The Code of the Woosters
DB68: Do Butlers Burgle Banks?
DD19: A Damsel in Distress
DS32: Doctor Sally
FL56: French Leave
FM47: Full Moon
FP29: Fish Preferred (UK title) / Summer Lightning (US title)
GB04: The Gold Bat
GB65: Galahad at Blandings
GB70: The Girl in Blue
GBTWB: This book, The Globe, is not divided into chapters, so page numbers are given. For information about the book, usually not mentioned in bibliographies, see the website Madame Eulalie
HK04: The Head of Kay's
HR60: Jeeves in the Offing (US title) / How Right You Are, Jeeves (UK title)
HW32: Hot Water
IA21: Indiscretions of Archie
IB61: Ice in the Bedroom
IJ10: The Intrusion of Jimmy (US title) / A Gentleman of Leisure (UK title)
IJ23: The Inimitable Jeeves
IW31: If I Were You
JF54: Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit
JM46: Joy in the Morning
LB35: The Luck of the Bodkins
LC21: Love among the Chickens
LG36: Laughing Gas
LN13: The Little Nugget
LP23: Leave it to Psmith
*LS08: The Luck Stone
LW20: The Little Warrior (US title) / Jill the Reckless (UK title)
MB42: Money in the Bank
MK09: Mike
MK09-53(MP): Mike and Psmith (subsequent edition of MK09 published in 1953)
MK09-53(MW): Mike at Wrykyn (subsequent edition of MK09 published in 1953)
MN28: Money for Nothing
MO71: Much Obliged, Jeeves
MS49: The Mating Season
NG07: Not George Washington
OR51: The Old Reliable
PB12: The Prince and Betty (a longer, original version of PH31)
PB69: A Pelican at Blandings
PC10: Psmith in the City
PF53: Performing Flea (Please note that for this book words are found by the dates given for each of the letters, presented as day-month-year). In the Penguin Books edition of 1961, the editors added additional Wodehouse writings, Huy Day by Day and the text of the five Berlin Broadcasts; those citations are coded PF53/HDBD and PF53/BB.
PH02: The Pothunters
PH31: Prince for Hire
PJ15: Psmith, Journalist
PJ17: Piccadilly Jim
PP67: The Purloined Paperweight (US title) / Company for Henry (UK title)
PU03: A Prefect's Uncle
PW52: Pigs have Wings
QS40: Quick Service
RH34: Right Ho, Jeeves
SB27: The Small Bachelor
SB77: Sunset at Blandings
SF48: Spring Fever
SF57: Something Fishy (UK title) / The Butler Did It (US title)
SM37: Summer Moonshine
SN15: Something New (US title) / Something Fresh (UK title)
SS25: Sam the Sudden (UK title) / Sam in the Suburbs (US title)
SS61: Service with a Smile
SU63: Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves
SW09: The Swoop
TM22: Three Men and a Maid (US title) / The Girl on the Boat (UK title)
TSA: Tales of St.Austin's (numbering according to index plus titles' initials)
TY34: Thank You, Jeeves!
UD48: Uncle Dynamite
UF39: Uncle Fred in the Springtime
UM16: Uneasy Money
WF07: The White Feather
WH14: The White Hope / Their Mutual Child / The Coming of Bill
*WT04: William Tell Told Again

SHORT STORIES
[An asterisk indicates that in that story no French words are to be found]
*01SO: Statement of Orlando Appleby
*01WP: When Papa Swore in Hindustani
*02BD: The Babe and the Dragon
*02BL: Bradshaw’s Little Story
*02HP: How Payne Bucked Up
02SR: Some Reasons and a Sequel
*02UC: An Unfinished Collection
*03BB: The Baffled Banshee
*03BS: Our Boys – III
*03BY: Our Boys – II
*03GP: The Ghost’s Point of View
*03HP: How Pillingshot Scored
*03JS: A Joke and a Sequel
*03OB: Our Boys
*03OF: An Official Muddle
*03PC: The Porter and the Cigar
*03PF: The Peculiar Case of Flatherwick
*03PP: The Perplexed Poet (verse)
*03PR: The Return of the Prodigal
*03-PRO: The Prodigal (verse)
*03RH: The Reformed Humourist
*03RS: The Reformed Set
*03SA: A Shocking Affair
*03SJ: A Spectral Job
*03SP: The Servant Problem (verse)
*03TE: A Technical Error
03WT: The Worm that Turned
*04HT: Homeopathic Treatment/ Scent Per Scent
04PF: Proverbial Fables
05BB: How Kid Brady Broke Training
05BL: Kid Brady – Light Weight: How He Made His Debut
*05OS: Our School Leagues
*05PI: The Pipe
*05RI: The Rivals (verse)
*05RM: The Reform of Murphy’s Rent
*05TS: The Two Sceptics
*06BA: How Kid Brady Assisted a Damsel in Distress
*06OB: Our Boys Again
*06OC: The Old Cricketer's Story (verse)
*06SK: The Soap King's Daughter    
*06SP: Signs and Portents
*06TS: The Sportsmen
*06WS: Why Smith Left Home
*07JO: Joe (verse)
*07SR: The Social Reformers
*9OS: Out of School
10AB: Archibald's Benefit
*10BA: By Advice of Counsel
10DW: Deep Waters
*10GA: The Good Angel
10MM: The man, the Maid and the Miasma
*10MU: The Man Upstairs
*10PB: Providence and the Butler
10RE: Ruth in Exile
10RH: Rough-Hew them How We Will
*10TO: The Outcast (verse)
*10WD: When Doctors Disagree
11AS: Ahead of Schedule
11IA: In Alcala
*11PO: Pots o' Money
*11TD: Three from Dunsterville
12GK: The Goal-Keeper and the Plutocrat
12MC: The Man Who Disliked Cats
12RR:  Rallying Round Old George
12SA: Sir Agravaine
12TM: The Tuppenny Millionaire
*13PW: The Peer Who Worked
13ST: Something to worry about
14OT: One Touch of Nature
*14PW: Parted Ways (US and UK version)
*14SL: The Sluggard
14ST: A Sea of Troubles
*15AG: At Geisenheimer’s / The Love-r-ly Silver Cup
15BL: Black for Luck
15CH: Crowned Heads
15EY: Extricating Young Gussie
15MM: The Romance of Mac’s
*15MS: The Mixer, Part II: He Moves in Society
*15MT: The Mixer, Part I: He Meets a Shy Gentleman
*15PF: Perfectly Furious
*15SP: The Secret Pleasures of Reginald
15RS: Rule of Sixty-Three
*15RU: The Romance of the Ugly Policeman
*15WH: Wilton’s Holiday / Wilton’s Vacation
16AS: The Aunt and the Sluggard
*16PB: A Priceless Boon for Authors
16JT: Jeeves Takes Charge
16JU: Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest
16TL: The Man with Two Left Feet
17JH: Jeeves and the Hard-Boiled Egg
19SF: The Spring Suit
*21CG: The Coming of Gowf
*21HA: The Heel of Achilles
22BC: Bertie Changes his Mind
22MP: The Magic Plus Fours
*22PT: The Purity of the Turf
*22SO: Scoring Off Jeeves
23DB: The Début of Battling Billson
23EB: The Exit of Battling Billson
*23FA: First Aid for Dora
*23LA: The Long Arm of Looney Coote
23NW: No Wedding Bells For Him
23RB: The Return of Battling Billson
23UA: Ukridge's Accident Syndicate
23UD: Ukridge's Dog College
23US: Ukridge Sees Her Through
24RA: The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy
24SS: Something Squishy
*24UR: Ukridge Rounds a Nasty Corner
25AG: The Awful Gladness of the Mater
25CR: Clustering Round Young Bingo
25FF: Fixing it for Freddie
25HC: Honeysuckle Cottage
25WO: Without the Option
26IC: The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy
26JI: Jeeves and the Impending Doom
26SL: A Slice of Life
26TAG: The Truth about George
27BM: The Bishop's Move
27CD: Came the Dawn
27PD: Portrait of a Disciplinarian
27JY: Jeeves and the Yule-Tide Spirit
27RB: The Romance of a Bulb-Squeezer
*27SW: The Story of William
28OO: The Ordeal of Osbert Mulliner
28PA: The Passing of Ambrose
28RW: The Reverent Wooing of Archibald
29JD: Jeeves and the Dog McIntosh
29JL: The Love that Purifies
29JS: Jeeves and the Song of Songs
29GU: The Man Who gave up Smoking
29SA: The Spot of Art
29SC: The Story of Cedric
29UB: Unpleasentness at Bludleigh Court
*30GN: Gala Nights
30IS: Indian Summer of an Uncle
30JK: Jeeves and the Kid Clementina
30JO: Jeeves and the Old School Chum
30TC: The Ordeal of Young Tuppy
31FA: Fate
33AH: The Amazing Hat Mystery
*33LS: The Luck of the Stiffhams
34FW: The Fiery Wooing of Mordred
34GB: Goodbye to All Cats
34NO: Noblesse Oblige
35AM: Archibald and the Masses
35CM: The Code of the Mulliners
35TD: Trouble Down at Tudsleigh
35TF: Tried in the Furnace
35UF: Uncle Fred Flits By
40SM: Scratch Man
48FO: Oofy, Freddy and the Beef Trust
58FL: The Fat of the Land
58RA: The Right Approach
58WS: The Word in Season
59JM: Jeeves Makes an Omelette
59LA: Leave it to Algy