Re: How do I pronounce "joie de vivre"?

"Mike Lyle" wrote

Donna Richoux wrote:

I doubt anyone comes across "on the qui vive" much any more, but it
was around in the past. MW11 indicates it had the "veev"
pronunciation, and says:

Etymology: French qui-vive, from qui vive? long live
who?, challenge of a French sentry
Date: 1726
ALERT, LOOKOUT -- used in the phrase on the qui vive

Surprised me, too, so I OEDed. But they confirm, saying:
"F., lit. '(long) live who?' a sentinel's challenge, intended to
discover to which party the person challenged belongs, and properly
requiring an answer of the form (vive) le roi, la France, etc." I fancy
I've heard people say "On the q.v."

I know that I've heard "on the q.t." used to indicate something done quietly
or secretly; and "q.v."(which see, see also) is common enough in indexing
books and literature. I'm guessing that "on the q.v." would be an easy enough
eggcorn to commit by someone with passing acquaintance with two of the three
(on the q.t, on the qui vive, and Q.V.)

.

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