sang-froid

familiar word / vague understanding of the meaning

Definition of sang-froid:
n. "Coolness and composure, especially in trying circumstances. (Old French & Latin: sang=blood; froid=cold)." (answers.com)

Where I ran across it:
12/11/07 – NYT movie review of Juno: "Seeking Mr. and Mrs. Right for a Baby on the Way" by A.O Scott, published Dec. 5, 2007.

“...Juno MacGuff, the title character of Jason Reitman's new film, is 16 and pregnant, but "Juno"could not be further from the kind of hand-wringing, moralizing melodrama that such a condition might suggest. Juno, played by the poised, frighteningly talented Ellen Page, is too odd and too smart to be either a case study or the object of leering disapproval. She assesses her problem, and weighs her response to it, with disconcerting sang-froid...”

My two cents:
Just the other day I heard an interview on NPR with the director and screen-writer of the movie, Juno. I listened at first from a curious, art-imitates-life angle. After all, our son’s love-child is due on Saturday. And the young, sardonic female screen writer reminded me of an art school classmate – each possessing a brilliant, rebel mind and a talent for writing, as well as a colorful past as a stripper. Both the movie itself, and its makers, sounded smart, clever, and -- fascinating. This review calls it a “critic’s pick” so this is one film I have to see, if not on the big screen then via Netflix at the very least.