z The former professional quarterback Joe Montana serves as a great
example of sangfroid. Montana had a Hall of Fame career, winning
a national college championship at Notre Dame and four Super
Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers.
ż Besides his athletic ability, what made Montana great was his
calmness in high-pressure situations. In fact, he rallied his team to
31 comeback wins when the 49ers were behind in the fourth quarter.ż +LVXQÀDSSDEOHGHPHDQRUDQGDELOLW\WRZLQXQGHUSUHVVXUH
earned Montana his two most famous nicknames, Joe Cool and
the Comeback Kid.z In French, sang means “blood,” and froid means “cool.” Thus,
sangfroid literally means “cool blood.” A synonym for sangfroid,
also from French, is aplomb, meaning “grace under pressure.”Lagniappe (noun)
A small gift given by a storeowner to a
FXVWRPHU DQ\VPDOOH[WUDJLIWRUEHQH¿Wz 7KH $PHULFDQ +HULWDJH 'LFWLRQDU\
LGHQWL¿HVlagniappe as a New Orleans
creole word derived from the New
World Spanish word la napa, meaning
“the gift.” It’s not a surprise that this
Spanish word acquired its current
French spelling in New Orleans, a
cosmopolitan city where both Spanish
and French were spoken. Some
linguists speculate that the original Spanish word actually came from
an indigenous Native American word that meant “to give more.”Gemütlichkeit (noun)
An atmosphere characterized by a cheerful mood; peace of mind, with the
connotation of fellowship and coziness.$FFRUGLQJWR0DUN7ZDLQ
in Life on the Mississippi,
lagniappeZDVDZRUG
³ZRUWKWUDYHOOLQJWR1HZ
Orleans to get.”© Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-5513.