As long as I can remember, the word, Voila!, signified unexpected revelation. It was to me never found without being capitalized and accompanied by an exclamation point. It was basically the French answer to "Presto!"
- The magician starts with an empty top hat, says the magic words and Voila!
- The make-shift key slides into Jason Grothjan's dad's liquor cabinet in 5th grade and Voila!
- Follow the straps to the back, pinch the sides of the clasps together and Voila!
You get the idea.
So, it is with profound disappointment, that I report that voila is used in everday conversation Luxembourg to basically say "here you go." It would not be uncommon for an over-worked, under-paid waitress to give you a very half-hearted:
- voila . . . your esspresso.
- voila . . . your bill.
- voila . . . a cockroach.
Its sort of depressing. Everytime I hear the word, I still look up with youthful enthusiam hoping that the waitress might pull an eclaire from behind my ear . . . but it never happens.
In fairness, I did have a rissotto delivered the other day with a voila that it more than deserved.
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