# Do you use the word froufrou? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 23, 2022, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417 "2022-07-23T08:31:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/1 "2022-07-23T08:31:15Z")
Hubby’s from the east coast and I’m from the west coast. I use the word froufrou / frou-frou / frou frou quite often, but he still finds it weird. I don’t think this is a east coast / west coast thing, but I could be wrong. Anybody else? ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/2 "2022-07-23T08:35:58Z")
I use it \*liberally and I grew up in Iowa, so I don’t think it is a coastal thing. \*of course I do most everything liberally. That’s the cut of my jib. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/3 "2022-07-23T10:02:53Z")
The OED quotes the word’s use by several English novelists. It is not marked as regional. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/4 "2022-07-23T11:30:29Z")
I use it occasionally. I’m an east coaster, but I never thought of it as regional. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/5 "2022-07-23T12:17:31Z")
I’m in the UK and every time I go to the hairdresser’s, it’s referred to as “getting froufrou’d”. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/6 "2022-07-23T12:20:58Z")
It feels pejorative to my ears even if it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/7 "2022-07-23T12:51:18Z")
Should I? I thought “Bougie” was the word we were using. I’m clearly not sitting at the cool kids’ table. > **[Urban Dictionary: Bougie](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bougie)** > > People pretending to (or think they are) high class and but they're really not (or don't realize they aren't.) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/8 "2022-07-23T12:52:26Z")
Nou-nou. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/9 "2022-07-23T13:14:21Z")
Native Californian, now living in Washington. I don’t use the word froufrou, and have very rarely heard other people use it. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/10 "2022-07-23T13:24:58Z")
Never heard of it. I had to look up the definition just now. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/11 "2022-07-23T13:35:33Z")
Native Californian, and I use it occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/12 "2022-07-23T13:41:35Z")
I wonder why some people use the word froufrou and others do not. It doesn’t seem to be regional, and the dictionary doesn’t seem to be much help. My parents both use it, and they are both from the midwest, but I know friends of theirs also use it. > **[Foofaraw « The Word Detective](http://www.word-detective.com/2009/10/foofaraw/)** > > Sound, fury and flapdoodle Dear Word Detective: "Hooferah" -- am I spelling this correctly? This is something my father says a lot, but he doesn't know how to spell it, either. When something's too fancy, he says, "too much highfalutin' hooferah."... In comparison, the same source says that [druthers](http://www.word-detective.com/2012/02/druthers/) is not regional. > Another really strange thing is that, according to field research done by the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE), using “druthers” as a noun is especially common among people with a college education (though usage of the verb “druther” doesn’t similarly skew along educational levels). ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/13 "2022-07-23T13:43:25Z")
East coast. I’ve heard it in a neutral sense to describe something showy. I wouldn’t expect to hear it frequently unless there’s a slag usage I’m not aware of. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/14 "2022-07-23T14:46:57Z")
I know what it means, but have never used it. . > [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > I use the word froufrou / frou-frou / frou frou **quite often** (my bolding) Handy advice for everyone: if you use an odd word or phrase often, you might want to pare back. You could be interrupting the flow of a conversation, and annoying others. That applies to me as well; I had to go cold turkey and stop using catchphrases from before my students were born. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/15 "2022-07-23T14:52:08Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever said or written ‘froufrou’, nor do I recall ever hearing it used directly. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/16 "2022-07-23T15:20:08Z")
I only use the word in a set phrase: “froufrou drink”. Which is any drink with more ingredients than “single-malt” and “water”. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/17 "2022-07-23T15:37:02Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Handy advice for everyone: if you use an odd word or phrase often, you might want to pare back. Actually I use it quite often with my husband and parents and certain friends, that is, people I’ve known for decades. I don’t use it with others, as I do consider it slang, which means my non-native-English-speaking coworkers and neighbors won’t understand it. If I use it with someone who I know might not know it, it’s probably because I’m tired or distracted. ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/18 "2022-07-23T15:52:03Z")
East cost, here - “Chi-chi Frou-frou”. But only with a select subset of people, most of whom are deceased. So usage is rare. Dan ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/19 "2022-07-23T15:56:36Z")
I’m familiar with the word but don’t use it often. Not really because of the word but more because I don’t usually talk about things where it’d apply. I’m sure the last time I said it was something dismissive like “…covered with some chintzy froufrou shit…” Chicago area, by the way. So neither coast applies. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417/20 "2022-07-23T15:58:02Z")
It was a word my parents used more than I ever do, although my college roommate had it as a regular part of his vocabulary. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-use-the-word-froufrou/968417.md?page=2)