jolie-laide
adj.— «Simon Doonan, Barneys creative director, says pugs are “very jolie-laide.” That’s a French term for a woman who is oddly attractive though not conventionally beautiful. And that, says Doonan, “is very much what is happening in fashion right now.”» —“Pug o’ my heart” by Valli Herman Los Angeles Times May 6, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
What kind of book do people ask for most often in prison? Romance novels? No. The Bible? No. The most requested books by far are … dictionaries! A number of volunteer organizations gather and distribute used dictionaries to help inmates with...
Many of us struggled with the Old English poem “Beowulf” in high school. But what if you could actually hear “Beowulf” in the English of today? There’s a new translation by Maria Dahvana Headley that uses contemporary...
The catchword “jolie laide” must have been invented for Sarah Jessica Parker.