a varnish for wood consisting of shellac dissolved in alcohol
the gloss finish produced by repeated applications of this polish
First recorded in 1810–20
First recorded in 1830–40
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dr. Walter Damrosch started the idea, after running a wartime school in which U. S. bandmasters took a high French polish.
From Time Magazine Archive
Nothing is so good for the best class of work as polishing entirely with French polish.
From French Polishing and Enamelling A Practical Work of Instruction by Bitmead, Richard
French polish, or careful wax polish, has the effect of keeping out air and damp, which latter might soften the glue and disintegrate the surface veneer.
From British Manufacturing Industries Pottery, Glass and Silicates, Furniture and Woodwork. by Arnoux, L.
His shoes shone with a lustre beyond French polish, and his hat was brushed till not a wind dared to approach it.
From Auriol or, The Elixir of Life by Ainsworth, W. Harrison
French polish can be tinted a light-red with alkanet-root, and a dark-red with dragon's blood.
From French Polishing and Enamelling A Practical Work of Instruction by Bitmead, Richard
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.
