Make Your Point: SAVOIR-FAIRE

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pronounce SAVOIR-FAIRE:

SAV warr FAIR.

The middle syllable rhymes with "car" and "far."

connect this word to others:

In the lovely term savoir-faire, meaning "knowledge of what to do," that first bit, "savoir" traces back to the Latin sapere, meaning "to know, to be wise, to have taste;" and the second bit, "faire," to the Latin facere, "to do, or to make."

Let's focus on that first Latin bit, sapere. If you squint, you can see traces of sapere in many other terms about knowledge, wisdom, and taste, like

1. __sip__, meaning "tasteless: as dull, empty, and boring as a food with no flavor or taste;"

2. sap___ce, meaning "wisdom: good judgment, or the power to understand things deeply;"

3. sav__t, meaning "someone extremely knowledgeable and distinguished;"

and 4. savoir v__re, meaning "how to live: knowledge of how to live the good life."

Can you recall each of those?

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

We've used the term "savoir-faire" in English since about 1788.

It's French for "knowing how to do," and that's pretty much what it means! People who have savoir-faire have social skills. That is, they have the ability to say and do the right thing at the right time in social situations.

These days, some writers use "savoir-faire" to mean, much more generally, a certain cool style or ethos. This meaning is not yet recognized in dictionaries, and I don't recommend using it when we already have so many other snazzy words for the same concept, like "brio," "elan," "panache," and "charisma."

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, the uncountable kind: "He has savoir-faire;" "She did it with savoir-faire."

Other forms:

None are used in English.

But you might see it spelled without the hyphen now and then. I recommend sticking with the hyphen, since it's standard in English. Here's an example from the New York Times: "A tough guy with Bond-like sophistication and savoir-faire."

how to use it:

In English, the term "savoir-faire" is flashy, enthusiastic, and somewhat uncommon. Pick it when you want to call lots of attention to someone's extraordinary tact and classiness.

Most often, we talk about a person's savoir-faire: "his savoir-faire," "the savoir-faire typical of a good hostess," "their growing sense of savoir-faire."

We also talk about people gaining (or losing) savoir-faire, or showing (or lacking) savoir-faire.

examples:

"The Mutessarif sat on a divan at the upper end of a shabby room, an elderly man much like Mr. Gladstone, very courteous and gentlemanly, with plenty of conversation and savoir-faire."
— Isabella L. Bird, Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume 2, 1891

"After several months of exercise, the exercised [rats] became noticeably less anxious and more resilient to stress during behavioral testing. But that savoir-faire dissipated rapidly if they were removed from the cages with running wheels and toys."
— Gretchen Reynolds, New York Times, 9 January 2013

has this page helped you understand "savoir-faire"?

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 "savoir-faire" without saying "tact" or "social skills."

try it out:

Here's Rebecca Chance, talking about a time she failed to use her savoir-faire:

"Once seated beside Lauren Bacall, that famous, extraordinary face so close to me, her bone structure, close up, as imposing as an Easter Island statue, every shred of savoir-faire deserted me... To me she smiled and said graciously: 'I like your tights.' ... How easy for me to say: “'Thank you, I bought them in Florence last month,' and segue into a conversation about Italy, travel, or whatever subject Ms Bacall wanted to discuss. Instead, I muttered: 'Uhhhhhhhh,' and started to rock lightly back and forth."

Oof, so painful! So awkward!

With that in mind as an example, talk about a time your savoir-faire deserted you. What would have been the smooth, polished, proper thing for you to do or say? What did you actually do or say instead?

If this has never happened to you, quit lyin'! Just kidding. Talk instead about a time your savoir-faire served you well.

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.

This month, our game is "Sarah In Dip a Day!"

I'll give you some song lyrics that contain a sophisticated word or phrase—but I'll swap it out for what you might hear if you didn't know that word or phrase.

Your job is to find the spot where the lyrics quit making sense, then reinterpret those words as the artist actually wrote them.

Here's an example:

"I'm on a one-way street,
My fall from grace complete,
But I feel that there's a hazard hanging over me.
But I take away the feeling that I can't see,
And now you say to me
Sarah in dip a day."
—Amaranthe

Here, the meaning breaks down at "Sarah in dip a day," which should read "Serendipity."

Try this one today:

"Please come.
Please come away with me.
We won't conceal the death that caves you in.
Please come.
Come away with me,
Leaving the mountain bank that did you in."
—Mars Volta

If you need some clues, highlight the hidden white text below.
1. The part that needs to be changed is..."mountain bank"
2. The term that's being sung means..."person who makes a loud, showy display to fool people, often to take their money"
To see the answer, scroll all the way down!

review this word:

1. A near opposite of SAVOIR-FAIRE is

A. DIPLOMACY (the ability to ease tensions among groups).
B. GAUCHERIE (behavior that's awkward, tactless, or crude).
C. ULTIMACY (the state of being the best, the highest, or the most important).

2. According to a writer for the Guardian, _____ displayed savoir-faire as an Oscar host when he _____.

A. Billy Crystal .. got some laughs by inserting himself into movie clips
B. David Niven .. regained the audience's attention with a deft joke after a streaker dashed by
C. Chris Rock .. made edgy jokes at the expense of several attendees, prompting awkwardness and, later, apologies

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...
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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.

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