lèche-vitrine

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French

Etymology

From lèche (lick, imperative of lécher) +‎ vitrine (window).

Pronunciation

Noun

lèche-vitrine m or f (plural lèche-vitrines)

  1. (idiomatic, only in the masculine) window-shopping
    faire du lèche-vitrineto go window-shopping
    • 1950, Raymond Queneau, “Le Journal intime de Sally Mara”, in Les Œuvres complètes de Sally Mara, Gallimard, published 1989, page 48:
      Je me serais bien arrêtée devant les magasins pour faire du lèche-vitrine, mais mon compagnon aurait peut-être pensé que je voulais me faire offrir quelque chose, ce qui l’aurait mis dans une situation délicate vu qu’il n’a certainement pas beaucoup d’argent de poche : il n’y a qu’à le regarder.
      I would have gladly stopped in front of the stores to do some window shopping, but my companion might have thought that I wanted to get something for myself, which would have put him in a delicate situation given that he certainly didn't have a lot of pocket money: you could tell just by looking at him.
  2. (idiomatic) window-shopper
    Elle est une véritable lèche-vitrine.
    She's a real window-shopper.

Further reading