Memorize these and you could recognize 18.3% of all Foreign Words clues.
| # | Answer | Appearances | Sample Clue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merry Christmas | 5 | "Mele Kalikimaka" in Hawaiian, it's this holiday greeting in English |
| 2 | mazel tov | 5 | Hebrew for "good luck", it's used to express congratulations |
| 3 | Kismet | 5 | A '50s musical, or Turkish for destiny or fate |
| 4 | la dolce vita | 4 | Italian for "the sweet life", it served as the title for a 1960 Federico Fellini film |
| 5 | feng shui | 4 | It's the more commonly used term for the practice of Chinese geomancy |
| 6 | sotto voce | 3 | You speak this way, Italian for "under the voice", to avoid being overheard |
| 7 | salaam | 3 | It's the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew shalom |
| 8 | Pater Noster | 3 | Latin for "our father", it's another name for the Lord's Prayer |
| 9 | Gesundheit | 3 | Said before a toast & after a sneeze, it means health in German |
| 10 | bon mot | 3 | French for a witticism, this literally means "good word" |
| 11 | Blitzkrieg | 3 | (Sarah of the Clue Crew in front of St. Paul's Cathedral in London) St. Paul's miraculously survived the Nazi bombing called this, from German for "li... |
| 12 | achtung | 3 | When seen on a German sign, this word for "attention" means "caution" |
| 13 | kowtow | 3 | From Chinese for knocking the forehead on the ground while kneeling, it's showing servile deference |
| 14 | cuisine | 3 | Gourmet cooking in France |
| 15 | What time is it? | 2 | If a Spaniard asks you, "Que hora es?" he wants to know this |
| 16 | the colon | 2 | Meaning "double point", the German doppelpunkt refers to this mark of punctuation |
| 17 | shalom | 2 | This Hebrew word for "peace" is also used for "hello" & "goodbye" |
| 18 | Semper fidelis | 2 | This Latin motto of the U.S. Marine Corps means "always faithful" |
| 19 | schmaltz | 2 | From Yiddish, it can mean liquid chicken fat or a sappy, sentimental story |
| 20 | savoir-faire | 2 | French for "to know what to do"; you've got it if you're sophisticated & self-confident |
| 21 | salud | 2 | Spanish for "health", it's often used as a toast |
| 22 | presto | 2 | This word popular with magicians is Italian for "quick" or "nimble" |
| 23 | prego | 2 | It's Italian for both "please" & "you're welcome", but not "spaghetti sauce" |
| 24 | peace | 2 | A greeting in many Moslem countries, "Salaam" literally means this in Arabic |
| 25 | nom de plume | 2 | French:"Pen name" |
| 26 | no smoking | 2 | When taking off from Rome on Alitalia, this sign would read "vietato fumare" |
| 27 | Negro | 2 | Spanish for "black", it's a term Americans now seldom use for Blacks |
| 28 | mountain | 2 | In Japanese umi is sea or ocean & yama is this |
| 29 | money | 2 | If you can tell me what "gelt" means in Yiddish, you'll earn some right now |
| 30 | mikado | 2 | Gilbert & Sullivan fans know Japanese emperors once had this title meaning "exalted gate" |
| 31 | Maelstrom | 2 | This word, Dutch for "whirlpool", can also refer to a violent situation |
| 32 | Leather | 2 | If you want something made of this material while shopping in Germany, ask for das Leder |
| 33 | L'chaim | 2 | "To life! To life"--this Hebrew toast means "to life" |
| 34 | konnichiwa | 2 | In Japanese kon ba wa means "good evening" & this means "good afternoon" |
| 35 | Hasta la vista | 2 | In Spanish, it's "see you" |
| 36 | guerrilla | 2 | Spanish for "little war", it describes limited attacks behind enemy lines |
| 37 | grapes | 2 | In Latin, uva is a bunch of these, whether green or purple, seeded or seedless |
| 38 | eureka | 2 | Aha! I have found it, this Greek word that's the state motto of California |
| 39 | Erin go Bragh | 2 | This popular Gaelic phrase means "Ireland Forever" |
| 40 | early & late | 2 | In Portuguese these 2 antonyms are cedo & tarde |
| 41 | doppelganger | 2 | German word meaning a person's ghostly double who often brings trouble |
| 42 | dojo | 2 | Practitioners of karate & judo refer to their training school by this 4-letter Japanese name |
| 43 | detente | 2 | French for "relaxation", it refers to the relaxation of Cold War tension between the U.S. & the USSR |
| 44 | coup de grace | 2 | This French phrase for a death blow given to put one out of his misery literally means "stroke of mercy" |
| 45 | Cordon Bleu | 2 | French for "blue ribbon", it usually refers to a chef of great expertise |
| 46 | bushido | 2 | Japanese for "way of the warrior", it's the code by which a samurai lived |
| 47 | boer | 2 | An Afrikaner could tell you that this is the Dutch word for "farmer" |
| 48 | Beau Geste | 2 | French for "noble gesture", or French legionnaire films of '26, '39, '66, & '77 |
| 49 | arigato | 2 | It's how you say "Thank You" in Japanese |
| 50 | angst | 2 | German for "fear", it's used as a psychological term for anxiety mixed with uncertainty |