meeskite
adj.— Note: “Jolie-laide” is the French term for it. «Little, purebred dogs are certainly among the easier animals to find homes for, but Rosie was a bit “mature” when she entered my shelter as a homeless stray. A somewhat crusty old lady, this little Shitzu was in fact a mess when I first brought Marilyn to meet her. The Yiddish word “meeskite” meaning “someone so homely she’s actually cute,” the proverbial face only a mother could love, that was Rosie.» —“Rosie & Marilyn” by Ken White SFGate.com (San Francisco, California) May 12, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Emily in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is married to a native Dutch speaker, who points out that they buy groceries in a store, so why doesn’t grocery denote just one of those items and not the store where they’re sold? Originally, the French...
A Francophone who’s feeling low might say so with J’ai le moral dans les chaussettes. The idiom avoir le moral dans les chaussettes means “to have morale in your socks.” This is part of a complete episode.
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