Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DU JOUR

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pronounce DU JOUR: Say it "duh ZHYOR." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: I giggle immediately at the term du jour, remembering this from Dumb and Dumber: Lloyd: "What is the soup du jour?" Flo: "It's the soup of the day." Lloyd: "Mmm, that sounds good. I'll have that." While we're talking about the soup du jour, see if you can recall another French term that usually appears on the menu. Something à __ ___ is served with gravy or ice cream--or, more generally, is trendy or fashionable. It literally means "in the (current) fashion." (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)   definition: "Du jour" is French for "of the day." You tack it on after a noun. It can mean "of the day" literally, as in "the soup du jour." Or it can be figurative, meaning "for the present time only (because it's likely to change to something else very soon)." grammatical bits: Part of speech: Adjective, usually placed after the noun: "the soup du jour;" "teen hearthrob du jour (Empire)." Other forms:  If you like, you can italicize it, du jour, to show that it came from French. But it's not necessary. It's been around in English since 1894. how to use it: When you want to emphasize how some hot new trendy thing, topic, or person is all anyone can talk about--until tomorrow, or next week, or next month, whenever the next thing comes along--call it "the something du jour." The trend du jour, the crisis du jour, the obsession du jour, or the controversy du jour, for example. As you can tell, the tone here is a little snobby, a little dismissive, suggesting that people are "feasting" on whatever this hot new thing is, but tomorrow they'll feast on something else. examples: "The national pastime has become show-and-tell. Few people can resist a peek at the spectacle du jour."    — Nancy Franklin, The New Yorker, 16 August 1998 "The 55-year-old Republican congresswoman from Minnesota... is the flavor du jour of national politics, dominating magazine covers, punditry talk shows and the chatter of the political class."      — Albert R. Hunt, New York Times, 14 August 2011    has this page helped you understand "du jour"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "du jour" without saying "of the moment" or "for the time being." try it out: Back in 2005, the nutrition expert Dr. David Kritchevsky referred to people's fear and hatred of trans fats as "the panic du jour." Talk about what he meant. Why is there a "panic du jour" in diet culture? Can you think of another sphere that has "panics du jour"? What are they? Why do they disappear, only to be replaced with new ones? If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. Our game for this month is Rhyming Puzzles! I'll give you a description of something, and you name it in a rhyming phrase.  Longtime readers will recognize this game from years past, when we grappled with silly answers like "shopworn popcorn," "hidebound guide hound," "cow chow kowtow," "unflagging pun bragging," and "catch-as-catch-can Etch A Sketch fan." The answers will get longer as the month goes on. To see the clue, click the link. To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Enjoy! Try this one today: In your pantry, I bet you've got a box of Bisquick, a premade mix of flour, fat, salt, and leavening. It's a quick, easy, helpful thing to have around, suitable for all kinds of recipes. It's an _________ __________. Two words, four syllables each. Clue: use this word. review this word: 1. Some near opposites of DU JOUR are A. EPHEMERAL and EVANESCING. B. PERMANENT and EVERLASTING. C. MAKEWEIGHT and COUNTERBALANCING. 2. In the 2001 movie Josie and the Pussycats, the boy band's name, Du Jour, pokes fun at _____. A. product placement and corporate shamelessness, and perhaps the way in which greedy executives display musicians like hunting trophies B. the swift appearance and disappearance of pop bands, and perhaps the way in which hungry consumers devour musicians like appetizers C. the consumer's demand for visually beautiful pop bands, and perhaps the way in which cunning editors enhance photos and videos like magicians Answers to the review questions: 1. B 2. B Answer to the game question: It's an expedient ingredient. a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.