enfant terrible

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en·fant ter·ri·ble

(äN-fäN′ tĕ-rē′blə)

n. pl. en·fants ter·ri·bles (äN-fäN′ tĕ-rē′blə)

One whose startlingly unconventional behavior, work, or thought embarrasses or disturbs others: The radical painter was the enfant terrible of the art establishment.

[French : enfant, child + terrible, frightful.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

enfant terrible

(ɑ̃fɑ̃ tɛriblə)

n, pl enfants terribles (ɑ̃fɑ̃ tɛriblə)

a person given to unconventional conduct or indiscreet remarks

[C19: literally: terrible child]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

en•fant ter•ri•ble

(ɑ̃ fɑ̃ tɛˈri bl^ə)

n., pl. en•fants ter•ri•bles (ɑ̃ fɑ̃ tɛˈri bl^ə)
French.

1. a person who causes embarrassment by saying or doing indiscreet things.

2. a person whose work, thought, or behavior is so unconventional as to shock.

[literally, terrible child]

enfant terrible

- Actually applies to young adults (generally male) who go out of their way to shock or embarrass but at the same time are considered talented.

enfant terrible

A French phrase meaning terrible child, used to mean someone who behaves in an embarrassing, disruptive, or unconventional way.

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Noun

enfant terrible - a person whose unconventional behavior embarrasses others

recusant, nonconformist - someone who refuses to conform to established standards of conduct

Translations

Enfant terrible

enfant terrible

enfant terrible

n pl <-s -s> → Enfant terrible nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

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References in classic literature ?

This was Princess Myakaya, noted for her simplicity and the roughness of her manners, and nicknamed enfant terrible. Princess Myakaya, sitting in the middle between the two groups, and listening to both, took part in the conversation first of one and then of the other.

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He was joined in Brum two years later by Marco, dubbed the 'enfant terrible' of the British restaurant industry.

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Eddie Baddeo, Philippine fashion's 'enfant terrible,' succumbs to cancer !-- -- Deni Rose M.

Eddie Baddeo, Philippine fashion's 'enfant terrible,' succumbs to cancer

Fashion Freak Show offers 50 years of pop cultures through the eyes of fashion's enfant terrible and is currently enjoying an acclaimed run in Paris at the iconic Folies Bergere before transferring to London's Southbank Centre for 13 performances from July 23.

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Fashion Freak Show offers 50 years of pop cultures through the eyes of fashion's enfant terrible and is currently enjoying an acclaimed run in Paris, at the iconic Folies Bergere, before transferring to London's Southbank Centre for 13 performances from July 23.

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Gaining notoriety as an enfant terrible, she then finally figures out "how to build a girl." But the story takes a turn when she questions herself that "is this the girl she wanted to build?"

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The former enfant terrible of the art world said: "It's a statement that reaches out to everybody arriving into London."

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Eli Amir, Eliyahu Rips, and Eliezer Sonnenschein couldn't be more different: The first is a celebrated Baghdad-born author, the second is a brilliant mathematician from Latvia, and the third is the enfant terrible of modern Israeli art.

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Vice-Champion for 2017 was Alberto Rossi's Enfant Terrible with tactician Vasco Vascotto, whose excellent performance let her finish the event just three points behind Plenty, flash Gordon (Jahn/Reeser) was also very close, so it was a fight to the finish for the title.

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Kirill Serebrennikov, often called "the enfant terrible" of contemporary Russian theatre, signs off the libretto and scenography.

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Moreover, one saw an exciting enfant terrible of the classical guitar in the person of Sting Asistores, who displayed a close affinity with his instrument in Koshkin's 'Usher Waltz' and showed an advance level of maturity in Barrios' 'La Catedral.'