jolie laide
Britishnoun
Etymology
Origin of jolie laide
literally: pretty (attractive) ugly woman
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
McKinniss is simply good—well-trained, confident, displaying an uncommon facility with paint, punctuated by controlled moments of jolie laide sophistication.”
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 24, 2017
Bardem is back to normal brown hair today, a large presence in a London hotel room, with a slight look of Depardieu about him; jolie laide, if that term was ever used for a man.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 12, 2012
She was a fine equestrienne, a most beautiful dancer, apparently naturally graceful, and bore the sobriquet of la jolie laide.
From Women in the Life of Balzac by Floyd, Juanita Helm
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
