risky vs risque

Monday, October 26, 2009

"risky" is an adjective meaning, "attended with or involving risk; hazardous: a risky undertaking."

"risque" is also an adjective, but means, "daringly close to indelicacy or impropriety; off-color: a risqué story."

I notice a lot of people use "risque" when they mean "risky." Why, I have no idea, but based on their drawn-out enunciation of it, I figure it's because it sounds foreign and, hence, sophisticated. But to paraphrase George Orwell, never use a foreign term when there's an English equivalent--especially when said foreign term is neither foreign nor appropriate.