ballon d'essai

[ ba-lawn de-se ]

noun

, French.

, plural bal·lons d'es·sai [b, a, -law, n, de-, se].

1. trial balloon ( def ).

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

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, this volume of essays (most of which were in course of preparation when war was declared) is issued as a ballon dessai.

From Project Gutenberg