The Toad’s Words - Excursus #23

Well, folks, it has been nigh on ten years since I have posted an excursus of the Toad.  A lot of water and flotsam have gone under the bridge during that time and a lot of words have been caught in the weeds. I have been diligently writing them all down as they appeared and my notebooks have been acting a bit like Harry Potter’s The Monster Book of Monsters. However, as I sit to write #23, I find that my notebooks are all in my warehouse to keep them safe from any disaster that might occur at my house – fire, flood, forgetfulness. So needing a place to start, I checked the alphabetical index of the previous 109 words and I see that the letter ‘R’ is very much underrepresented. Enjoy the read and when done think about the poor people trying to learn English that have to pronounce these words. Also, as always, we enjoy comments and feedback - this is how we learn. Do not hesitate to share this link with others.

Roux, noun

Pronounced rew as in stew.

This is a cooking term meaning a mixture of fat and flour cooked together to form a brown paste or thick gravy.  Often the fat used is butter but it can be various oils or animal fats. Many Cajun recipes, such as gumbo and crawfish etouffée, are made by starting with a roux.  The word roux comes from the French meaning red-haired or brown sauce – you choose. (I wonder if the French ever use roux to mean saucy redhead?)

The plural of roux is roux which is good because I wouldn’t know how to pronounce rouxes.

“Paul brought a half cup of butter to nearly 400 degrees before he put in the flour and spices and stirred them until he had a nice thick roux which he referred to as Cajun napalm.”

Roué, noun

Pronounced rew (as in Roux) ey (as in Fay.) Accent on the é.

A wantonly licentious or lecherous man, a rake, a profligate, a guy that likes saucy redheads. A couple of dictionaries define a roué as a dissipated man. That definition forced me to look up dissipated which apparently can mean indulging in sensual or foolish pleasures. Who knew?

The plural of roué is roués which is also known as a fraternity and in some circles, the trumpet section.

The history of roué is pretty interesting. Roué is the past participle of the French verb rouer meaning broken on the wheel.  Apparently, in 1720, the profligate Philippe II, Duke of Orleans and Regent of France, called his licentious companions “roués” thus implying that they needed to be broken on a wheel. The term then took on the new meaning.

“Bernard and his coterie of debauched rakes, who frequently were in the company of courtesans, are known as the Roués of Rue Royale.” 

Rue, verb

Pronounced roo as in kangaroo.

To be sorry for or to regret. To feel remorse or to lament. This appears to come from the Old English. In Beowulf, it is used as hreow.

“Stu clued Sue that he knew she would rue the day she called in with the blue flu.”

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Row, noun

Proununced rou as in pow or wow.

A noisy disturbance, a brawl, a loud quarrel. A commotion or clamor. It can be used as an intransitive verb as well. And, so you don’t have to look it up, an intransitive verb is one that doesn’t need a object.

Americans have developed the word rowdy which clearly is a diminutive of row. The origin of row is not known. However, Shakespeare used rowse as a shortened form of carouse in Othello. So let’s blame the existence of row on Shakespeare.

Of course, when pronounced ‘rō’ as in ‘tow’, it refers to a form of nautical locomotion or a line of stuff.

“The sight of a sow standing in the prow and rowing with a bough caused a tremendous row.”

Roe, noun

Pronounced row as in toe.

Fish eggs or the egg laden ovarian member of a fish. Roe from a sturgeon (usually beluga sturgeon) is usually referred to as the delicacy caviar. The word origin is pretty boring. It comes from the Middle English rowe.

A roe is also a small deer with forked horns.

“Mr. Sears sold his roebuck so that he would have enough money to buy a ton of Russian Beluga roe.”

Ruse, noun

Pronounced rooz, as in kangaroos.

A strategy or subterfuge to mislead or trick someone.

This word comes from the Old French ruser meaning to dodge or practice deceit. In the seventeenth century, it was used as a hunting term to describe the dodging motion of the game.

“The roués rued the day when they caused a row by attempting a ruse to steal the beluga roe from the chef while he was focusing on his roux.”

Note: If you read this before the evening of 7 June 2011 you will have seen an error in my definition of intransitive verb under the word 'row.' Amy Rogers pointed out that I said 'subject' instead of 'object.' It has been fixed but in defense, I was half right - they both have 'ject' as part of the word.

Disclaimer: The author, his heirs, his editors (of which he apparently has many), his colleagues, his cat, nor the gophers in his yard take any responsibility for slip of the tongues, mispronounced words, misunderstandings, or subsequent rows that might come from using The Toad’s Words.

Copyright © by Michael L. VanBlaricum, 2011. All Rights Reserved.