an inopportune occurrence; an embarrassing mischance: He caused a minor contretemps by knocking over his drink.
Origin: 1675–85; < French, equivalent to contre-counter- + temps time (< Latintempus); perhaps alteration (by folk etymology) of Middle Frenchcontrestant, present participle of contrester to oppose; see contrast
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
1684, "a blunder in fencing," from Fr. contre-temps "motion out of time, unfortunate accident, bad times." As a ballet term, from 1706; as "an unfortunate accident," 1802; as "a dispute," from 1961.