pis aller
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of pis aller
literally: (at) the worst going
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.
He knew very well he was the pis aller of the party, and only danced when Parson Frank was not dragged out, nothing loth, by his little daughter.
From Chantry House by Yonge, Charlotte Mary
"Awful stick, but a pis aller I'm afraid."
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98, 1890.05.10 by Various
Too much forethought is fatal to progress, and if I had really considered difficulties I could have stayed in England and written a story instead, a most loathsome pis aller.
From A Tramp's Notebook by Roberts, Morley
I can lead the horses,” he suggested as a pis aller.
From At Fault by Chopin, Kate
But don't you see, if it is said that she was obliged to leave Milan, it puts us in the position of a pis aller!
From A Siren by Trollope, Thomas Adolphus
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.
