beau geste

beau geste [boʊ ˈʒɛst] n.

1.) A gracious gesture.
2.) A gesture noble in form but meaningless in substance (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Etymology: French beau, noble + geste, gesture.

"It was in the rout that followed Issus that Darius fled the field of battle, leaving his wife, children, and even his mother behind in the baggage train. Alexander, with characteristic largesse and fondness for the beau geste—like most extravagant personalities, he had a capacity for generosity as great as his capacity for ruthlessness—honorably maintained the captives in royal state" (How Beautiful It Is and How Easily It Can Be Broken: Essays, Daniel Mendelsohn, 2008).

(Mégas Aléxandros, "Menas", ~350 B.C.) _____________________________________________________

I thought I'd give the ladies an aide-mémoire this time. (This is also pretty much what I look like when my toga is falling off.) And let's resume the weekly challenge this week, using 5 of rebus, cabbalistic, festina lente, abderian, miasma, oneiric, and jezebel. Thanks for reading!