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0Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 15, 2007 is:
amuse-bouche \AH-mooz-BOOSH\ noun
: a small complimentary appetizer offered at some restaurants
Examples:
"Meals start with a complimentary amuse-bouche and basket of bread with a ramekin of herb butter." (Linda Bladholm, The Miami Herald, November 30, 2006)
Did you know?
In French, "amuse bouche" means literally "it amuses the mouth." The French were using "amuse-bouche" as a word for appetizers when English speakers embraced the culinary term almost a quarter of a century ago. The French are more likely to use their term "amuse-gueule" for those tasty tidbits, however; and in English "amuse-bouche" has a special meaning. It's not just any appetizer! Typically, it's a tiny complimentary one that seems to have taxed the creative powers of the chef to the utmost for the amusement of the diners (e.g., a tiny beet-puree-filled taco; a tiny square of halibut-and-salmon cake; fig molasses on a tiny cube of goat cheese).
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