an incomplete list of french phrases that, i believe, should be used with greater regularity. a photo taken from the window of our hotel in paris.

avec plaisir - my pleasure (lit. "with pleasure")

bete noire - a scary or unpopular person, idea, or thing, or the archetypical scary monster in a story; literally "black beast."

cri du coeur -"cry from the heart" : an impassioned outcry, as of entreaty or protest

dernier cri - the latest fashion; literally "last scream"

l'esprit de l'escalier - "wit of the stairs" : a concise, clever statement you don't think of until too late, e.g. on the stairs leaving the scene

fait accompli - something that has already happened and is thus unlikely to be reversed

gauche - tactless

je m'en fous - "I don't give a damn"

le mot juste - "the just word"; the right word at the right time

nom de plume - author's pseudonym, literally "pen name"

vive la difference! - "[long] live the difference"; originally referring to the difference between the sexes, the phrase may be used to celebrate the difference between any two groups of people (or simply the general diversity of individuals)