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.
There might be a way open, perhaps, by my offering to marry that worthy lady! but that would be quite a pis aller.
From North and South by Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn
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
"Ce serait toujours un pis aller," said Jacobi, seating himself with calmness in Ratcliffe's favourite chair by Mrs. Lee's side.
From Democracy, an American novel by Adams, Henry
Not that the law had any peculiar attraction for him; he rather accepted it as a pis aller; for, of course, he had to study something.
From Essays on Scandinavian Literature by Boyesen, Hjalmar Hjorth
It looks mean and ungrateful to the dear old place and our friends to go back to them as a kind of pis aller after having exhausted the pleasures of vagabondising.
From The Crooked Stick or Pollies's Probation by Boldrewood, Rolf
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.
