menus plaisirsn.
/mɛnˌjuː plɛˈzɪə/, U.S. /mɛnˌju ˌplɛˈzɪ(ə)r/ Simple pleasures; small personal expenses or gratifications; frivolous or inessential objects bought with a personal allowance intended for this purpose.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > quality of being pleasant or pleasurable > [noun] > pleasures > simple or small
menus plaisirs1697
society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > [noun] > expenses > small personal
pocket expenses1696
menus plaisirs1697
1697 J. Vanbrugh Relapse i. 8 I shall see you stand in damnable need of some Auxiliary Guineas, for you[r] Menu Plaisirs.
1736 W. Popple Double Deceit iv. 58 A Gentleman has so many other Articles of Expence, that two hundred Pounds a Year is as much as he can possibly spare, for his Menus Plaisirs.
1779 H. Walpole Let. 14 Jan. (1904) X. 363 My menus plaisirs, a few sprinkled visits of charity from a few friends that remained in town.
1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park II. v. 114 He will have a very pretty income..and as..he will still live at home, it will be all for his menus plaisirs . View more context for this quotation
1883 M. E. Braddon Golden Calf II. xi. 293 Whatever honorarium he received for his work was expended upon his menus plaisirs.
1915 F. M. Hueffer Good Soldier iii. v. 193 He may have had five hundred pounds a year English, for his menus plaisirs.
1995 Sunday Tel. 11 June (Review section) 10/4 They find the process of achieving their ambition too messy, too demanding, too common, and subside into a lifetime of menus plaisirs.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1697