violon d'ingres

Origin
Word Origin & History

violon d'Ingres
"an occasional pastime, an activity other than that for which one is well-known, or at which one excells," 1963, from Fr., lit. "Ingres' violin," from the story that the great painter prefered to play his violin -- badly -- for visitors instead of showing them his pictures.
EXPAND
"Une légende, assez suspecte, prétend que le peintre Ingres état plus fier de son jeu sur le violon, jeu qui était fort ordinaire, que de sa peinture, qui l'avait rendu illustre." [Larousse du XXe Siecle, 1931]
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Violon d'ingres is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature