dishabille

by **Klimt** » Sun Oct 10, 2010 6:58 pm

1. the state of being partly or carelessly dressed

2. a garment worn in undress.

3. a loose morning dress.

4. a disorderly or disorganized state of mind or way of thinking.

Its mistress was a frank and hospitable young woman, who stood before me in a dishabille, busily and unconcernedly combing her long black hair while she talked, giving her head the necessary toss with each sweep of the comb, with lively, sparkling eyes, and full of interest in that lower world from which I had come, talking all the while as familiarly as if she had known me for years, and reminding me of a cousin of mine. --Henry David Thoreau

by **Slava** » Sun Oct 10, 2010 7:14 pm

Good Word, Klimt. I have no doubt there are many people out there who appreciate this concept.

What I find most interesting is that dishabille is quite often not unintentional. Think of definitions 1 and 4. The concept is as often as not NOT careless, disordered, or disorganized, as a femme fatale uses these ruses to great effect.

Any votes on "de" v "di"?

by **thejazzgirl** » Mon Oct 11, 2010 10:53 am

Slava- as in the saying - Dumb as a fox?

by **Slava** » Mon Oct 11, 2010 11:09 am

thejazzgirl wrote:Slava- as in the saying - Dumb as a fox?

I've never heard dumb as a fox before. I get the gist of the concept, but what does it mean here?

by **thejazzgirl** » Tue Oct 12, 2010 9:45 am

following your suggestion... The femme fatale, not so innocent, purposely positioned every hair out of place, every slip of the gown to entice her love interest. Perhaps Dumb was not the right word, but fox was.

by **Slava** » Tue Oct 12, 2010 4:59 pm

Ah, I see said the blind carpenter as he picked up his hammer and saw. Thanks for the clarification on that one. I missed the tie-in completely, obviously.

I hope you'll bear with me. I'm not usually this dense.

by **Klimt** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 8:58 pm

dishabillophobia - A fear or strong aversion to undressing in front of people

by **Slava** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 9:41 pm

Klimt wrote:dishabillophobia - A fear or strong aversion to undressing in front of people

A relative of gymnophobia, the fear of nakedness.

Now, is this fear of one's own nakedness, or of the nakedness of others?

by **Klimt** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 10:50 pm

Slava,

according to wikipedia it can be one or the other or both.[/url]

by **Slava** » Sat Oct 16, 2010 12:22 am

Ah, wonderful. I just love words that are distinct in their meaning. Meanings?

Our Sponsors

dishabille

dishabille

Who is online