ballon d'essai

[ba-lawn de-se]

noun

French.

plural

ballons d'essai 

1. trial balloon.

ballon d'essai

/ bæˈlõ dɛˈseɪ /

noun

1. a project or policy put forward experimentally to gauge reactions to it Compare trial balloon

Word History and Origins

Origin of ballon d'essai¹

C19: from French, literally: trial balloon