FROU FROU

When I was in the operating room to have cataract surgery, I did not want any kind of anesthetic or sedation, but my face was immobilized to prevent any movement during the operation.

During the surgery, I could hear banter between two women in the operating room. Obviously they were the surgeon's assistants.

The two women were discussing an upcoming Home Interiors party one was hosting. Of course, I'd seen numerous television medical shows showing the chit chat that goes on between personnel in operating rooms when patients are unconscious. Evidently the women did not know, or forgot, that I was not sedated.

One asked, "Dr. Wittstein, is your wife froufrou?"

The incongruity of being in the OR, experiencing the most serious situation in my life, and the women talking about a damned party bothered me and I asked, in a loud, but muffled voice, "FROUFROU?"

Dr. Wittstein exclaimed, "Mrs. Raypole, are you allright?" I said, "Yes, but I am NOT froufrou, in case they were planning to invite me!"

Dr. Wittstein immediately grasped my consternation--and sarcasm--and said, "Ladies, Mrs. Raypole is NOT sedated, so let's refrain from talking about non-related topics."

After the operation Dr. Wittstein asked, "Now, what the Hell is froufrou?"

During my yearly check-ups, he and I always have a laugh about the incident; this year he said, "My wife still ISN'T froufrou!" I answered, "And neither am I!"

See the A.Word.A.Day article below.

A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

froufrou
PRONUNCIATION:
(FROO-froo)

MEANING:
noun:
1. Something fancy, elaborate, and showy.
2. A rustling sound, as of a silk dress.

ETYMOLOGY:
From French, of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1870.

USAGE:
"Too often I go to some lunch party and am presented with an exquisite froufrou creation when what I long for is the pasta the three-year-old sitting next to me is given."