des hors d'œuvres vs des amuse-bouches vs canapés vs petits fours?!

Question

In the US, one of the few French words that most of us Americans think we know is  "hors d'œuvres"-- to us, it means appetizers. Yet, "hors d'œuvres" isn't an option in the context of a NY Eve party in France?  I think of an "amuse-bouche" being something that is served between courses in an elaborate meal, a "canapé" is something on a cracker (savory biscuit), and a "petits fours" is a tiny cube of cake, frosted with a ganache and decorated daintily.  Can someone please clarify?

Accepted Answer

Hi Adrienne,
The word 'hors d'œuvres' is not accepted for 'appetizers' as in France it means a starter or a first course and is more substantial than a petit four, canapé or amuse-bouche which are mouthful size-titbits ( of varying shapes ) served before the first course in a special meal.
Another word for hors d'œuvre is entrée in France. This is used differently in English too I believe.
It sometimes happens that an imported foreign word is used slightly differently in situ and these are such examples.
Hope this helps!

Answer

And now, after completing another exercise on NY Eve I see that "amuse-gueles" is yet another word for appetizers!

Answer

Ah! Adrienne, I didn't mention 'amuse-gueules' but it was accepted in both exercises. The reason is that nowadays it seems more polite to say 'amuse-bouches'.  
The word 'gueule' whose prime meaning is the mouth of certain animals is used for countless expressions deemed 'populaires' ( think 'common' ) and is considered vulgar nowadays.
https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/gueule/38539 
When I was growing up in France amuse-bouches didn't exist and 'amuse-gueule' or 'canapé' would have been the word for an appetizer.