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definitions

past mistress

noun
  1. a woman who is thoroughly experienced or exceptionally skilled in a profession, art, etc.

Origin of past mistress

First recorded in 1865–70
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for past mistress

Historical Examples of past mistress

  • Already you are past-mistress on the subject of vases and statues.

  • She was past-mistress of the entrechat and other mysteries of the ballet academy.

    Interpreters

    Carl Van Vechten

  • She was a past-mistress in the arts of scandal-mongering, nagging, and back-biting.

    A Woman's Burden

    Fergus Hume

  • The American girl is past-mistress in the art of turning to account her little capital of beauty, youth, and virtue.

  • She was past-mistress of the canoeist's difficult art, and her canoe flew on as though drawn away into the dark on unseen cords.

    A Hoosier Chronicle

    Meredith Nicholson