enfant terrible or enfants terribles
French expression which literally means "terrible child"; enfant
child. It is used in a negative way about a person, not necessarily a child
but rather an adept or newcomer, whose behavior in some ways is shocking
and disturbing. Commonly used in the arts, where it has a quite positive
meaning, describing a person who is unconventional and avant-garde, with new
ideas and manners. The expression has been in the Oxford English Dictonary
since 1851.
Example: "<dannye> I had to delete the whole user account. That
newbie was such an enfant terrible. ", Not so good of an example perhaps, but how about "Jean-Paul Gaultier, the enfant terrible of haute-couture."
This is an entry in the mini series about French idioms in the English
language. | 
