pièce de résistance


the pièce de résistance

1. The most outstanding, remarkable, or prized achievement, accomplishment, aspect, event, etc., in a given series or group. Mr. Reynolds has an impressive gallery, but I'm told that his latest sculpture will be the pièce de résistance.2. The principal or featured dish in a meal; the entreé. And now for the pièce de résistance: paupiettes of black sole, served with asparagus spears and a rich consommé.See also: DE, piece, resistance

your/the ˌpièce de réˈsistance

(from French) the most important or impressive part of a group or series of things: I hope you all enjoyed your main course. And now for my pièce de résistance: chocolate gateau!See also: DE, piece, resistance

pièce de résistance

The most notable or most highly prized feature of a group or series; the star attraction. Originally, from the 1790s or so, this French term always referred to a meal’s greatest delicacy (an appropriate matter of concern to French palates). By the mid-nineteenth century the term had been transferred to other outstanding items, at least in English. Thackeray, in an essay (1840) about art, stated: “To supply the picture lover with the pièces de résistance of the feast.”See also: DE, piece, resistance