laïus

From Ancient Greek Λάϊος (Láïos, “Laius”); part of the entrance examination to the École Polytechnique in the early 19th century involved writing Laius's speech to Oedipus, a subject many students found uninspiring. The term entered Polytechnique student slang before spreading to the general language.

• IPA^(key): /la.jys/

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laïus m (plural laïus)

1. (derogatory) a speech or address, especially one that is meaningless, trite, verbose, pat, and/or insincere.

• “laïus”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.