louche · adj — of questionable taste or morality; decadent. It carries an Arena rating of 1740, earned across 13 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, louche ranks #2,231 of 17,135 for Most Elegant Words, #2,562 of 17,152 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #3,425 of 17,135 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,512 of 17,144 for Most Vivid Words.
louche is pronounced /luːʃ/.
Why “louche” is a great word
Marked by a dubious or shady character that is nonetheless magnetically attractive in its rakish disregard for convention. From French louche ('squinting'), from Old French lousche, lois ('cross-eyed, squint-eyed'), from Latin lusca, feminine of luscus ('one-eyed'), first attested in English in 1819. Unlike 'disreputable,' which suggests a simple loss of standing, or 'decadent,' which implies a grand, indulgent decline, louche operates in the alluring penumbra where vice winks rather than leers. It is the glint of a flawed diamond on a gambler's finger, the conspiratorial warmth of a whispered proposition past midnight, and the particular glamour of a plan that is just dishonest enough to be interesting—a testament to the enduring charm of things viewed askance.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
Borrowed from French louche.
adj
- Of questionable taste or morality; decadent.e.g.“Upstairs Downstairs hosts the Kennedys and Wallis Simpson (these days, in British culture, the archetypal louche American).” — 2012 February 25, “The other half lives: The transatlantic appeal of the British ruling classes”, in The Economist, archived from the original on 28 Apr 2016:
- Not reputable or decent.e.g.“My uncle knows something about that fellow—Clavering knows something about him. There’s something louche regarding him.” — 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 70, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850,
- Unconventional and slightly disreputable in an attractive manner; raffish, rakish.e.g.“Anyone inside the business can also tell you that without Carine Roitfeld's louche sexy styling Tom Ford's Gucci might easily have come off looking like a high-end Club Monaco.” — 2007 September 9, Guy Trebay, “Who will pull together the collections?”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2015:
noun
- A dubious or disreputable person or thinge.g.“'That's right,' Joe smiled. 'Loafing about on the Mall with the louche of the town. And, speaking of the louche of the town, don't we have an appointment to interview one or two of them this morning?'” — 2003, Barbara Cleverly, Ragtime in Simla, Robinson, →ISBN:
verb
- To make (an alcoholic beverage, e.g. absinthe or ouzo) cloudy by mixing it with water, due to the presence of anethole. This is known as the ouzo effect.e.g.“Certain anise-flavored drinks have developed a mystique based on the exotic appearance of louching.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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