BEAU GESTE: 1: a graceful or magnanimous gesture 2: an ingratiating conciliatory gesture
"Beau geste" is a phrase borrowed from French; the literal translation is "beautiful gesture." Beau Geste is also the title of a 1924 novel by Percival C. Wren, featuring three English brothers with the last name Geste. All three join the French Foreign Legion to repair their family honor, and two of them, including the one nicknamed "Beau," die heroically. The novel spawned at least two American films, one starring Gary Cooper. The novel didn't invent the phrase "beau geste," which first appeared in print in 1914, but the publicity surrounding that story most likely contributed to the expression's popularity.
No comments:
Post a Comment