Pretentious Phrases instead of Plain English words -Piece de resistance

[igr61]

Just thought I would get this one of my chest.
Irritating People that use pretentious foreign words Phrases instead of basic plain English-
"Piece de resistance " instead of saying Masterpiece or the best available.
and that other one usually said by TV presenters and journalists:
"Raison detre " instead of reason for existing

We'll have to disagree there.
There was a time when people didn’t use that phrase and are still able to communicate the same meaning.
Using fewer words doesn’t mean better way of saying what you mean. A lot of people use text speak these days to communicate what they mean because it’s quicker and uses fewer words and letters, doesn’t mean it’s better or any clearer.

Good plan!

I agree with other posters that sometimes the English version of a phrase just doesn't convey the same message.

But I also kind of agree with the OP that it some situations it can sound pretentious to use the foreign version of a phrase where the English would suffice.

Example - I overheard a woman in a Yorkshire pub last week reply to the barmans question of whether she wanted ice in her diet coke with "oooh yes, just a soupcon please". He was a bit and she did sound like a bit of a pretentious twat. She could have said "just a little please" and it would have conveyed the exact same message!

But it was the situation and context not the actual phrase iyswim? Had she been in a trendy wine bar in soho ordering a martini on the rocks her response wouldn't have sounded so twattish I don't think?

Oh yes your ice cube lady is beyond twatty! Hilarious. Also I don’t think correct use of the word but someone whose French is better than mine (so anyone) can address that. Unless it was crushed ice in which case I might accept it.

As a non-native English speaker - what would be the more English word for eclectic, instead of... eclectic?

Yes, I would have said "un peu", I think.

A close (narcissistic) relative likes to describe people she would like to feel superior to as "bourgeois". She doesn't seem to realise that she is inherently/tediously middle class. I find her (and the phrase) infuriating.

Mange Tout Rodney

I don’t see virtue signalling as pretentious; it’s a succinct expression which captures the meaning. I can’t think of another way of saying the same thing in a word or two. Eclectic is similar, how else do you express the concept so concisely? I talk for a living (lecturer) and I love it when I come up with exactly the right word for what I’m trying to say. It’s only pretentious if you get it wrong, like the soupçon woman. Using a word or phrase correctly is, by definition, not pretentious. Clear expression of my thoughts is my raison d’etre (although you’d never know it from the mangled spelling and grammar that my phone and I produce on MN ).

I wonder if @igr61 is going to bother to come back and respond to any of the posts on here, or whether they have simply posted a goady-fucker OP, and buggered off (I hope that language was plain enough).

chemenger totally agree. I am a solicitor and can’t stand wasted words. Using the right expression is probably a lot more important to me than it should be!

Saying "virtue signalling" is a kind of showing off. Showing off how cleverly you can moan about other people. Pah. Come to think of it, I've never heard anyone in life say the v-s words together. It's a popular online phrase to dismiss the value of someone else's efforts, I guess. Successor to 'PC' as PC was used by rightwing people.

What kind of people do you mix with . My office is almost all non-British people, Spanish, Dutch, French, Italian, Arabic & other speakers & we don't use funny foreign phrases when English will do.

I think the best of Del Boy's phrases was 'crudités a la plat' as an expression of surprise

Missing the accent on the 'a' but you get the drift.

I'm with the PP above about incorrect phrasing being more pretentious that using a foreign phrase. Think estate-agent-ese or Apprentice-ese. "That would be myself, Lord Sugar", or "I can meet yourselves at the premises"....

There is nothing wrong or common about the word "me".

I agree with the vast majority here. It's frequently French we have to resort to to find the mot juste.

my favourite pretentious word is 'Weltanschauung'
We used to have a bit of fun as students, with a drink bought for anyone who could work it into an essay..

Anyone for a horses doofer?

MawkishTwaddle
^^

Got there first.

Example - I overheard a woman in a Yorkshire pub last week reply to the barmans question of whether she wanted ice in her diet coke with "oooh yes, just a soupcon please". He was a bit hmm and she did sound like a bit of a pretentious twat

^^

Would have loved to have been there!

I know that virtual signalling was thanks to auto-correct, but I was hoping some clever MNer would post a definition.

As for the word "eclectic", I don't like it when someone uses it to describe themselves. To me it sounds just as though they are saying, "I'm more interesting than you".

I find that people who describe themselves as eclectic are often pretentious.

Someone upthread wanted to swap virtue signalling for showing off. I suppose it is a form of showing off, but in a particular vein.

Oh, just cross posted with lots of people.....

Not half as annoying as when people insist on pronouncing words a la forrin, rather than using the English pronunciation that has become commonplace.

So would you like "piece de resistance" to be "peace der resisternts"? Getting very Fools and Horses! :D

Completely contradicting myself, (and this is using myself in the correct context), my DM insists on saying "choritho" instead of "chorizo" even though she's never even set foot in Spain, let alone contain a drop of Spanish blood. I don't know why, but that really makes me .