What does the word, "tete-a-tete" mean?

A tete-a-tete might be a casual chat, but it's more likely to be a formal conversation or meeting between only two people.

If your boss requests a tete-a-tete with you, she means that she wants to have a meeting, just the two of you. Maybe you'll get a raise at the tete-a-tete — or maybe you're in trouble. You could schedule a tete-a-tete with your college adviser or plan to sit down with your roommate and have a tete-a-tete about the dirty dishes in the sink. The leaders of warring countries might also try to settle disputes through a tete-a-tete. In French, tête-à-tête literally means "head to head."

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10 Comments

Joan McLeod

Actually it means "head to head"

Al Breyette

Its actually a PRIVATE conversation between two people.

Michael Dunphy

How many times are you going to ask the same question. I’ve started my last 6 quizzes with Opps you’ve already answered this question, enough is enough

Ken Putnam

It MEANS head to head as used in modern English, it refers to a private conversation between two people

Chris Brown

It's difficult sometimes, I know, to add accent on foreign words, so what I do sometimes is to google the word or phrase then copy/paste. So it is actually "ête a tête". A crcumflex on the first e: and a grave accent on the a. Tête-à-tête It's a great question otherwise. But I see you have used the accents the last time you mention the phrase. I didn't see it at first.