I got an Email from a friend asking for my comments on something he saw on a food forum he watches regularly. It was a discussion over the words “amuse bouche” and “amuse gueule”. I could not help but add my 2 cents worth as the moderator in all her glory was flat wrong.
Here is what she wrote:
“.. Bouche is actually mostly slang for mouth, although it is now used when describing
“non productive mouths to feed” and some other phrases. But usuually gueule
is the accepted word for mouth in French. Ferme (with a forward accent over
the e) la bouche is not something nice to say to someone!
Amuse as written means nothing. Amuser is a verb to amuse.
Anyway, the topic of amuse gueule is something I wrote about a long time
ago…which is why I give you this info now.”
Here is what I replied:
“As a native francophone I could not help but notice a misconception about
the words “bouche” and “gueule”. Bouche is the correct word for mouth, while
gueule refers to the mouth of an animal. Gueule is the slang word for
mouth. However it is part of several accepted expressions such as “fine
gueule” meaning a gourmet, and “avoir la gueule de bois” having a hang over.
The expression “amuse gueule” literally translated as mouth teaser refers to
bite size pieces of food served with drinks. The expression “amuse bouche”
is an euphemism for “amuse gueule”. But, as it is a bit newer, one tends to
associate it with the relatively new fashion of serving small portions of
food while the guests peruse the menu in a restaurant. Now the association
with a shooter might come from the fact that these samples are often served
in a shot glasses as they are handy containers for small portions of often
liquid or runny food. In french restaurants chefs will serve a “verrine”
(from the word “verre” meaning glass), which will be a small glass filled
with layers of different colours such as an avocado mousse, topped with a
thick gazpacho, then maybe some smoked salmon and topped with sour cream.”
Anyone familiar with this blog already knows all this! See how educational this is!!!