# amuse-bouche



## jomar

What is the translation of this phrase and how does one pronounce it?


----------



## Benjy

jomar said:
			
		

> What is the translation of this phrase and how does one pronounce it?



hmm i think its a gobstopper. you know the massive round sweets that erm stop up yer gob?

as for the pronunciation, clicky and choose a french voice. by consenus julia's (french) seems to be the best


----------



## Cath.S.

Also called "amuse-gueule".
You'll find all the answers you need (and more!) in this thread :
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=12885&highlight=amuse-gueules


----------



## Cath.S.

> hmm i think its a gobstopper. you know the massive round sweets that erm stop up yer gob?


You seem to me like a foine gobtopper yerself, Ben my lad!


----------



## Benjy

gah.. ignore what i wrote. i dont know why this idea is so firmly lodged in my head, and thats inspite of participating in the thread you linked. i must have read it some where but it's clearly false. gobstopper != amuse-gueule/bouche. argh. maybe if i go and write it out a thousand times that'll help.


----------



## dreamer

the correct word is amuse-gueule, amuse-bouche is not a word


----------



## Cath.S.

It seems to be in the 1992 version of the Dictionnaire Historique de la Langue Française, though. The word appeared in 1946.
Also, in the Dictionnaire Suisse Romand :
Amuse-bouche is a euphemism, created by analogy with amuse-gueule. Some restaurants, embarrassed to use the term "amuse-gueule", replaced it with "amuse-bouche". The term "amuse-bouche" has only been picked up by French lexicographers (in France) since 1992; others date it to 1980. It took root in Switzerland as early as 1975.


----------



## blabla

I've only heard "amuse-bouche" used to mean appetizers. Like tapas...


----------



## dreamer

i've never heard anyone french use the word amuse-bouche only amuse-gueule, interesting facts though thank you for the info


----------



## Sev

Benjy said:
			
		

> hmm i think its a gobstopper. you know the massive round sweets that erm stop up yer gob?


Then if gobstopper is not amuse-gueule, so what is it ? It don't see what you mean Benjy


----------



## Nico5992

Si j'ai bien compris, un _gobstopper_ est un gros bonbon, ce qui n'a rien à voir avec un amuse-gueule.


----------



## Benjy

Sev said:
			
		

> Then if gobstopper is not amuse-gueule, so what is it ? It don't see what you mean Benjy



well.. erm? amuse-gueules are savory treat things and are not sweets/candy. at 3/4am in the morning sometimes i post things that dont make sense. that was one of them. unless of course the large spherical candies that you put in you mouth and suck are in fact called amuse-gueules. this post is mst likely more confusing than the last.


----------



## Sev

> Si j'ai bien compris, un _gobstopper_ est un gros bonbon, ce qui n'a rien à voir avec un amuse-gueule.


 


> large spherical candies that you put in you mouth and suck


 
Is it something like lollipop ? (sucette)


----------



## Benjy

Sev said:
			
		

> Is it something like lollipop ? (sucette)



nah.. its not on a stick. gob-stopper. the name comes from the fact that its a hard candy/sweet so large that when you put it in your mouth (gob) it stops it (from speaking). but you do suck them.


----------



## Sev

ok I see. Maybe I was quite long to understand because we have no equivalent. At least, I don't know this kind of candy. I do prefer chocolate


----------



## Benjy

Sev said:
			
		

> ok I see. Maybe I was quite long to understand because we have no equivalent. At least, I don't know this kind of candy. I do prefer chocolate



moi aussi je prefère le chocolat 

ps.. you'd probably say "it took me a while to understand/i was a bit slow on the uptake (which corresponds to the expression lent(e) à la détente) or maybe slow to understand.


----------



## Sev

Benjy said:
			
		

> . you'd probably say "it took me a while to understand/i was a bit slow on the uptake (which corresponds to the expression lent(e) à la détente) or maybe slow to understand.


Merci beaucoup Benjy. I like that kind of corrections , very useful !


----------



## fzc

English speakers find it easier to say amuse-bouche than amuse-geule, so parties and dinners and menus begin with amuse-bouche.

What is the plural by the way???amuse-bouche or amuse-bouches


----------



## discoball

I would say 'des amuse-bouche' since 'ça amuse LA bouche' and not 'les bouches'. 

That's what I learnt when I was a child, but there has been une 'réforme orthographique' since then, and I think the correct way of spelling it would now be 'des amuse-bouches'. 

This reform is not applied everywhere, so up to you really, as long as you can justify yourself if you are asked why.


----------



## broglet

For further clarity, amuse-bouche = amuse-gueule (note the spelling, fzc) and it is usually something small and tasty served by waiters at the beginning of a meal to make you think you are being served when the truth is that you will be kept waiting for ages before you really are. Amuse-bouche is no easier for English speakers to say than amuse-gueule, fzc, since the vowel sounds in both bouche and gueule are pretty similar to vowels in English words (as in douche and girl); it is the u of amuse which is difficult. A gobstopper has nothing to do with either - it is a large spherical hard sweet, usually with coloured layers like a polychromatic onion, which changes colour as you suck it; it is called a gobstopper because it keeps small children quiet. I would not return to a restaurant where gobstoppers were served at the start of a meal.


----------



## fzc

yes I always get 'gueule' wrong so thanks brogleut..


----------



## Bob Dobolina

jomar said:


> What is the translation of this phrase and how does one pronounce it?



A-mewz boosh.  Amuse the mouth.


----------



## Bob Dobolina

dreamer said:


> the correct word is amuse-gueule, amuse-bouche is not a word



You are correct.  It's two words.  Amuse means the same thing as it does in English.  Bouche is "mouth".


----------



## Bob Dobolina

dreamer said:


> i've never heard anyone french use the word amuse-bouche only amuse-gueule, interesting facts though thank you for the info



You might want to check with the staff at L'Amuse Bouche, located at 186 r. Château F in Paris.  I'm pretty sure they've heard the phrase.  Amuse bouche is the proper term, used in proper restaurants.  It means to amuse the mouth.  Amuse geuele is slang.  It means something like to amuse the mouth of the animal.  It's considered somewhat coarse, which is why French restaurants almost always call them amuse bouche.  They're freebie appetizers, used to show off the talents and style of the chef.  The pronunciation of "geuele" is very similar the way the British pronounce of the word "girl".


----------



## JeanDeSponde

Well - no, _amuse-gueule_ is not slang, not even familiar.
It should be paralleled with _une fine gueule_ = "un gourmet"_.
_Many ways to skin the cat...


----------



## Bob Dobolina

broglet said:


> For further clarity, amuse-bouche = amuse-gueule (note the spelling, fzc) and it is usually something small and tasty served by waiters at the beginning of a meal to make you think you are being served when the truth is that you will be kept waiting for ages before you really are. Amuse-bouche is no easier for English speakers to say than amuse-gueule, fzc, since the vowel sounds in both bouche and gueule are pretty similar to vowels in English words (as in douche and girl); it is the u of amuse which is difficult. A gobstopper has nothing to do with either - it is a large spherical hard sweet, usually with coloured layers like a polychromatic onion, which changes colour as you suck it; it is called a gobstopper because it keeps small children quiet. I would not return to a restaurant where gobstoppers were served at the start of a meal.



Har!  I never in my life would have thought to refer to British English for the meaning of "gobstopper".  Here in America, a "gob" is a large, sticky wad of spittle.  Having never tried a gobstopper, I always assumed they had some astringent quality which helped to reduce the production of said sticky liquid.  At last I understand.  In the U.S., a gobstopper is called a nook or a binky.  They look like this:

http://img2.timeinc.net/instyle/images/2007/galleries/122607_pacifier_a.jpg

Thanks for clearing this up.


----------



## Bob Dobolina

JeanDeSponde said:


> Well - no, _amuse-gueule_ is not slang, not even familiar.
> It should be paralleled with _une fine gueule_ = "un gourmet"_.
> _Many ways to skin the cat...



OK, let's not say slang.  Let's use the term "informal".  It's the French equivalent of calling wasabi "namida" or calling shoyu "murasaki".  The proper term, you'll agree, is more commonly seen on restaurant menus in France (if it's seen at all).  N'est pas?

Geuele, originally, refers to the mouth of carnivorous animals.  The root is "gula"--the same root as "gullet".  Engueuler, engueulade, gueuleton, gueuletonner.  The human mouth is bouche. Root: OF "buce", "boce".  From the Latin "bucca" (cheek).  Do you see?  It's the hard, lipless mouth of the reptile vs. the soft human face.  There's familiarity in bouche.  It's something we love.  We kiss the cheek, we feed the mouth.  Geuele is a body part.  Amuse-geuele are for the thin, reptilian, analytical mouth of the gourmet.  Amuse bouche are for human beings.  Make sense?  Perhaps my use of the word "slang" is the problem.  Does it mean something different in French than it does in English?  In English, it's not pejorative.  It's simply street-level.  Talk for the common man or for insiders.  Not proper, but not improper.


----------



## lodelalu

" amuse-gueule " is the real word, " amuse-bouche " is used in fancy restaurants
where the word " gueule " is considered too familiar


----------



## Bob Dobolina

lodelalu said:


> " amuse-gueule " is the real word, " amuse-bouche " is used in fancy restaurants
> where the word " gueule " is considered too familiar



The "real" word?  As opposed to the unreal word?    "Too familiar" is correct.  When my Spanish friends ask, "Como estas", I reply: "Muy bien.  Y tu?"  When a waiter asks the same question, I say, "Estoy bien. Y usted?"  It's just being polite.


----------



## JeanDeSponde

Bob Dobolina said:


> ...  Perhaps my use of the word "slang" is the problem.  Does it mean something different in French than it does in English?  In English, it's not pejorative.  It's simply street-level.  Talk for the common man or for insiders.  Not proper, but not improper.


My point is that _amuse-gueule_ is not "street-level". It is perfectly OK, written or spoken, whatever the context...


----------



## KaRiNe_Fr

Hello Bob Dobolina,


Bob Dobolina said:


> [...] It's just being polite.


But it's not rude to use the word _amuse-gueule_. That's the point. 

 Edit : bah, je t'avais pas vu JDS, mais je t'appuie ainsi.


----------



## Bob Dobolina

KaRiNe_Fr said:


> Hello Bob Dobolina,
> 
> But it's not rude to use the word _amuse-gueule_. That's the point.



I understand.  And I think there may be a smalll breakdown in language going on here.  Rudeness is rarely a consideration in America, because it's not a function of our language (unless it's intentional). When you say "rude", it means something different than it does here, I think.  Unlike many older languages, we don't have formal vs. informal forms in American English.  Because we have people from so many cultural backgrounds living in this country, we have been forced to dispense with the formal rules of various cultures and languages.  It's simply too difficult.  We don't have male and female forms, for instance.  We don't really have honorifics.  We try to be polite, but we try also not to impose our formal language rules on others, because we all understand how complex it can be.  When I lived in New York City, I developed a real love for our American way of forgiveness.  Everyone there is somewhat rude, so everyone there is polite.  Does that make sense?

I own an Internet business, and we sell to people all over the world.  Some countries are far more casual than America (Australia, for instance).  Most are far more formal.  I would NEVER, for instance, refer to one of our French customers by her first name unless formally invited.  Aussie customer expect it.  My comments should be taken in that light.


----------



## Bob Dobolina

JeanDeSponde said:


> My point is that _amuse-gueule_ is not "street-level". It is perfectly OK, written or spoken, whatever the context...



Yes.  I agree.  But would your grandmother not prefer amuse bouche?


----------



## JeanDeSponde

Bob Dobolina said:


> Yes.  I agree.  But would your grandmother not prefer amuse bouche?


_Amuse-bouche_ didn't exist at the time
Political correctness is not the opposite of slang - it is the opposite of life...


----------



## Beaupré

Amuse-gueule is very correct, and familiar. You won't find this word in a classic tragedy, but you can use it with anybody. Since my grandmother comes from my family, let's use familiar words.


----------



## KaRiNe_Fr

Bob Dobolina said:


> Yes.  I agree.  But would your grandmother not prefer amuse bouche?


I don't know about JDS's grandma, but if mine were still alive she even would not know the term _amuse bouche_! 
(many thanks for your cultural explanation)


----------



## Bob Dobolina

JeanDeSponde said:


> _Amuse-bouche_ didn't exist at the time



You, my friend, are what we in America refer to as a wise-ass.


----------



## Bob Dobolina

KaRiNe_Fr said:


> I don't know about JDS's grandma, but if mine were still alive she even would not know the term _amuse bouche_!
> (many thanks for your cultural explanation)



You are most welcome, and thank you so much for discussing this with me.  We Americans are very interested in learning about the finer (and sometimes very important) points of other languages.  Understanding the etymology of various Indo-European languages is one thing.  But understanding the cultural subtleties is quite another.  It's the Tower of Babel.  It must be defeated.


----------



## Bob Dobolina

JeanDeSponde said:


> Political correctness is not the opposite of slang - it is the opposite of life...



Yes, yes and yes, my friend.  It's not the food or the conversation.  It's the feeling around the table.


----------



## Bob Dobolina

I want to thank JeanDeSponde and KaRiNe_Fr for helping me.  This has been an extraordinarily illuminating conversation.  The subtleties of language can be so difficult to comprehend.  The comments you have submitted have been more valuable than a year of language courses.  Thank you so much.


----------



## broglet

By the way, all French compound nouns of the form 'verb(3rd person singular present indicative)-noun' are masculine, whatever the gender of the noun, and their literal translation is 'noun-verber' so amuse-bouche (m) = mouth-amuser.


----------

