coup d'oeil
Americannoun
plural
coups d'oeilnoun
Etymology
Origin of coup d'oeil
First recorded in 1730–40; literally, “stroke of the eye”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But what happened last week in Bangkok was not a coup d'�tat, nor even a coup de main, coup de Jarnac, coup de gr�ce, coup de maitre, coup de pied or a coup d'oeil.
From Time Magazine Archive
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I walked the whole length of the route before the procession moved, and the coup d'oeil was perfect.
From Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 422 Volume 17, New Series, January 31, 1852 by Chambers, Robert
I made out in the autumn that Blennerhassett laid a good deal of blame on Forster's want of flexibility of mind and of coup d'oeil.
From Letters of Lord Acton To Mary, Daughter of the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone by Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Baron
I say an attempt, for, to do justice to that ragged coup d’oeil is beyond the privilege of the pen.
From The Guerilla Chief And other Tales by Reid, Mayne
The coup d'oeil presented by no means an uninteresting spectacle.
From Lander's Travels The Travels of Richard Lander into the Interior of Africa by Huish, Robert
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.