13 March 2018

bon mot

[bon moh; French bawn moh]

noun, plural bons mots [bon mohz; French bawn moh] (Show IPA)

1. a witty remark or comment; clever saying; witticism.

Origin of bon mot

1725-1735; < French: literally, good word; see boon2, motto

Can be confused

bon mot, mot juste.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for bon mot

Historical Examples

There was a bon mot, which blazed with all the soft brilliancy of sheet lightning.
The Young Duke
Benjamin Disraeli

A bon mot which was carefully copied into The English Mercury.
Memoirs of the Court of Queen Elizabeth
Lucy Aikin

I must leave behind me the remembrance of a bon mot, or I shall be forgotten.
Devereux, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Today’s quote

Writing is nothing more than a guided dream.

– Jorge Luis Borges

On this day

13 March 1929 – The Butler Act is passed, making it illegal to teach the theory of evolution in schools in Tennessee. The Act was repealed in 1967.

13 March 1969 – Disney releases the hit movie, The Love Bug, based on a Volkswagen Beetle with a life of its own.

13 March 1979 – a left-wing military coup in Grenada overthrows Prime Minister, Sir Eric Gairy. His leadership was controversial with allegations of illegitimately winning the election, rigging a Miss World contest and calling for the United Nations to establish a committee to investigate UFOs and extraterrestrial life.

13 March 1996 – Sixteen children at the Dunblane Primary School in Scotland are shot dead by former boy scout leader, Thomas Hamilton. The massacre resulted in stricter gun laws in the United Kingdom.