misère

British  

/ mɪˈzɛə /

noun

1. a call in solo whist and other card games declaring a hand that will win no tricks

2. a hand that will win no tricks

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Etymology

Origin of misère

C19: from French: misery

Example Sentences

On “Calvaire,” Chicha sings, “T’es ma misère, c’est le monde a l’envers, t’es mon enfer, ’vec tes commentaires,” which translates to “You’re my misery, my world inverted, you’re my hell with your observations.”

From Washington Post

It is a universe of dilapidated stairwells, cramped apartments and barren concrete plazas, and all are in the misère, as the French would say.

From New York Times

After every misère ouverte we have a round of nap.

From Literature

Morin: In French we say, “la misere est plus douce au soleil” — hardship is milder under the sun.

From Los Angeles Times

Her final book, “Misère,” returns to the 19th-century realist tradition, and examines artistic depictions of extreme poverty in industrializing Europe through the paintings and prints of Courbet, Géricault, Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec, as well as newspaper illustrations, early photographs and contemporary memorials.

From New York Times